Southern Walkway

11 km walk between Oriental Bay and Island Bay: 4–5 hours. Steep in places, not difficult overall: average fitness. Features tranquility of the Town Belt forest, and the rugged coastline between Houghton Bay and Island Bay.

Covering 10.7 km, this is a substantial hike requiring a reasonable base fitness. Most walkers complete it in about 2 hours and 23 minutes.

This linear trail moves from one end to the other without looping back. A return journey by transport — or retracing the path — is needed to get back to the start. The trail is officially waymarked as SW, so look out for the trail markers along the way.

This is a Local Walking Network (LWN) trail — a community-level route perfect for exploring the immediate surroundings, popular with locals and visitors alike.