The Hemi Matenga Scenic Reserve overlooks Waikanae and if you decide to walk to the top of the reserve you’ll be rewarded with panoramic views of Kapiti Island and the coast.

Of the three walking tracks in the reserve:

• The Parata walking track is the most popular.
• The Te Au Track is tougher but the Parata tracks meets it at the top of the reserve.
• The Kohekohe Track is a short trail along the bottom of the reserve.

In this post, we’ll focus on the Parata walk starting from Tui Crescent that transitions into the Te Au track which leads back down the hill to Huia Street (you can return back down the Parata Track too).

If you’re looking for a more difficult hike nearby, check out the Kapakapanui Track.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Details About The Hemi Matenga Tracks
2. Hemi Matenga Track Maps
3. How To Get To Hemi Matenga
4. My Te Au & Parata Walking Track Experience

1. DETAILS ABOUT HEMI MATENGA AND THE PARATA WALKING TRACK

I’d give the Hemi Matenga Tracks a 4.5/5 stars.

Why a 4.5/5 rating? There’s the potential for me to be a little biased here as I grew up in Waikanae.

But honestly, this is the first thing I do when I’m back staying at Dad’s place. The walk doesn’t take long and you get such incredible views of Kapiti Island, the valley, and of the South Island on a clear day.

I just wish the Te Au and Parata trails joined up at the bottom of the reserve somehow. Either way, this is the best of the Waikanae walking tracks, and is a great addition to a day trip from Wellington.

When¹: I’ve been on these tracks lots throughout my life 🙂

Hike Distance²: My Strava entry logged 5.36km while Maps.me says it is 5.2km and the DOC signs have the track at 5.3km (from Tui Crescent to Huia Street).

Difficulty³: Medium

Incline⁴: 456 metres on Strava. 469 metres on maps.me.

Hike Duration⁵: It took me 29 minutes to get to the Reikorangi valley viewpoint and 45 minutes to get to the picnic bench with the view of looking straight out to Kapiti Island on the Te Au Track.

After a 15 minute break the descent took 55 minutes down to Huia Street.

From start to finish that’s just under two hours. I’d suggest it’d take most people 2-3 hours to get from Tui Crescent to Huia Street. The signs suggest it’s a 3-4 hour tramp.

2. HEMI MATENGA TRACK MAPS

The tracks can’t be seen on Google Maps, but they’re on Maps.me (below). The map is the Parata Track and Te Au track combined (the Kohekohe Trail is not on there).

3. HOW TO GET TO THE HEMI MATENGA TRACKS

Walking: If you’re at Waikanae Village, you can walk to the Parata trailhead on Tui Crescent which is 1.6km away from Waikanae Railway Station.

Public Transport: if you’re coming from outside of Waiakane, you can catch the train to Waikanae Train Station and either walk to the trailhead or catch bus #281 to Winara Avenue opposite Kereru Street and walk the last couple of hundred metres to the trailhead.

You can view the bus #281 timetable here and the Kapiti train timetable here.

Driving: You can drive right to the Parata trailhead and park along Tui Crescent. There’s limited parking, but you shouldn’t have any issues. If you complete the full Parata and Te Au loop, you’ll need to walk the ~2km back to your car.

4. MY TE AU & PARATA TRACK EXPERIENCE

Note: This trip report starts at the Parata walking track which merges onto the Te Au track and follows that to the trailhead on Huia Street.

The first ~100 metres of the track is on a sealed surface leading to the water tank which you’ll be able to see from the bottom of the incline. Sticking to the left of the water tank you’ll see the sign which gives you a description of the 330 hectares Hemi Matenga Scenic Reserve.

Once you enter the canopy of the forest, you’re in the shade until you reach the first viewpoint out to Kapiti Island meaning you can get away with this hike on a scorching day and you shouldn’t get too burnt.

The track is well defined and you’ll have no trouble following the track with the orange markers. If you do see what looks like a trail leading off, stick to the main path and you’ll be on track.

You’ll come across the sign for the Kohekohe Track turnoff after ~10 minutes, but you’ll turn left and continue on up with the sounds of the creeks and birds in the background. The incline isn’t crazy, but it’s steady.

Thankfully the track on the way up with roots and other debris giving you issues.

Then out of nowhere, you’ll come out across the lookout with views out towards Kapiti Island and the South Island.

There’s a little bank you can take a rest on, and while some people use this as the turnaround point…but I strongly encourage you to continue you up to the epic viewpoint a little bit further up the Te Au viewpoint.

After the first view a minute or so later you’ll see the Reikorangi Valley which is where the Parata Track finishes and transitions to the Te Au track.

If you want, you can come back down the Parata Track as the Te Au Track isn’t so well maintained and is a bit steeper. That’s not to say it’s difficult (it would get tricky in the rain), as the orange markers are frequent and the roots get gnarly.

But that’s mostly after the epic viewpoint you see above. There’s a bench at the viewpoint where you can chill for a while (better than the bank mentioned earlier).

Update: Scroll down to the bottom and you’ll see a couple of comments from Angela and Sonya who completed the full loop. I’ve updated the difficulty from easy-medium to medium.

It’s a steady descent and after an hour or so you’ll be spat out at the opening to the farmland backing on to the streets in front of the reserve. It’s a walk down the hill in the tall grass for 300 metres before you reach the road signaling the end of the hike.

Depending on how you got to the beginning of the trail you will either need to walk about:

• 2.5km to the train station.
• 2km to get back to your car.
• 1km to the nearest bus station back to the Waikanae Railway Station.

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For those heading here, this walk is usually on the must-do list of things to do in Waikanae. But given it’s reasonably quick you can do it on the way to Wellington.

If you’ve got any questions about the Hemi Matenga walks, leave a comment below or email jub@churnewzealand.com.

Tag me in your photos/stories on Instagram if you do this walk!

What to read next:

• Amazing walks around Wellington
• Heaps of things to do in New Zealand
• Paekakariki Escarpment Track Walk
• The Mangaone walkway (near Waikanae)