Hemi Ridge Trail
Waikanae · Wellington
This walk was suggested by the community and checked against the authority quoted above before it was published. The route line comes from official track data. DOC’s own wording: “Dogs on a leash only. Other pets on conservation land rules. That is DOC's wording for the Hemi Matenga tracks (Te Au Track and Kohekohe Walk both carry it), and this ridge line stays inside the same reserve, so the lead stays on the whole way”. Evidence: the rule-setter’s own published wording. How we check dog rules.
Good to know
Dogs are allowed here. Keep them on the lead, watch for ground-nesting birds and stock, and read the signs at the gate.
About Hemi Ridge Trail
This long walk follows 11.7 km, near Waikanae in Wellington.
The ridge walk through Hemi Matenga Memorial Park Scenic Reserve above Waikanae, redrawn to stay on public land. The old line for this trail, which floats around on trail apps, carried on north along the ridge to Hadfield Road, and that half of it is wrong: DOC's own conservation land mapping puts the reserve's northern boundary at the 540 metre knob on the ridge, everything beyond it is privately owned farmland with no signage granting access, and there is no official trail there. Kellie, a Waikanae local who knows this hill well, flagged it, and the mapping backs her the whole way. Our line now climbs from the Kakariki Grove entrance to the ridge, follows it north to the reserve boundary, and turns around there, about 6.3 km each way with the climb mostly in the first half. Be clear about what the upper half is. DOC's marked tracks here are the Te Au Track, Kohekohe Walk and Parata Track at the southern end of the reserve; north of the Te Au loop there is no official trail, just well formed bait lines along the ridge that are easy to follow in good conditions. It is proper hill travel for a fit dog and a confident navigator, not a groomed path, and the turnaround is a boundary, not a summit: when the ridge starts dropping toward the farmland, you have gone far enough. Hemi Matenga holds one of the biggest remaining stands of kohekohe forest in the country, and the birdlife that comes with it, which is why the lead matters here. Kererū feed low in this bush, gorging on kohekohe fruit within a dog's reach of the ground; keep the dog on the leash, on the line, and out of the undergrowth, and pack water because the ridge carries none.
Graded hard, it climbs about 746 m overall, and takes about 3 hr 35 min to walk.
Dogs are allowed here, on the lead. This walk is on the map because Kellie & Jack suggested it, and we checked it against the source above.
