Pākuratahi Forest: Remutaka Rail Trail, Tunnel Gully & Mt Climie

Overview

Pākuratahi Forest covers about 8,000 hectares on the western side of the Remutaka Range, north of Upper Hutt. It's home to the rail trail section of the Remutaka Cycle Trail, one of New Zealand's Great Rides. The trail follows the old Wellington–Wairarapa railway line through tunnels and over restored bridges.

The forest also includes Tunnel Gully Recreation Area, a popular picnic, walking and mountain biking spot at the foot of Mt Climie (830 m).

The railway story

Before the 1855 earthquake, Ngāti Ira travelled up the Hutt River by waka to Te Marua, then crossed the Pākuratahi flats to Wairarapa. In the 1870s the railway was built up the Pākuratahi Valley to the Summit. From there the Remutaka Incline dropped into Wairarapa at 1 in 15, the steepest main-line railway ever built in New Zealand. Six special Fell locomotives worked it for 77 years (1878–1955), until the 8.8 km Remutaka Tunnel opened. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip rode the line in 1954.

Getting there and opening hours

• Remutaka Cycle Trail (Kaitoke car park): Signposted off SH2, 9 km north of Upper Hutt, then 1.7 km along Incline Road
• Tunnel Gully and Mt Climie: Turn off SH2 onto Plateau Road at Te Marua, 6 km north of Upper Hutt, and follow it to the end
• Train: Wairarapa Line to Maymorn, then walk or cycle 2 km through the historic Mangaroa Tunnel to Tunnel Gully
• Bus: Route 112 to the end of Plateau Road (stop 9627), then walk about 1 km
• Hours: Open to walkers at any time. Vehicle gates are open 6am–6pm in winter and 6am–8pm during daylight saving.

Remutaka Rail Trail highlights

The Greater Wellington section runs 18 km (2–4 hours by bike) from Kaitoke to Summit. From there, the DOC-managed Incline descends to Cross Creek in Wairarapa. Along the way:

• Pākuratahi Tunnel (1876, 73 m): New Zealand's first concrete-block structure
• Pākuratahi Bridge (1876, 28 m): New Zealand's oldest Howe truss bridge, rebuilt in 1910 and restored in 2001
• Ladle Bend Creek Bridge (1875, 70 m): The country's second-oldest under-strutted beam bridge
• Summit Tunnel (1877, 584 m): Bring a torch
• Summit Yards: Once had cottages, a signal box and a turntable, now landscaped picnic and camping grounds

After your ride, the Fell Museum in Featherston houses H 199, the only surviving Fell engine.

Tunnel Gully and Mt Climie

Camping

Camping is free at Summit (which has flush toilets) and beside the Pākuratahi River near Ladle Bend. Don't pitch under the pine trees. Portable gas stoves are fine, but fires aren't allowed. Cross Creek, at the bottom of the Incline, is DOC land.

Dogs in Pākuratahi Forest

Tunnel Gully is the main dog-walking area. Possum control has recently been carried out in parts of Pākuratahi and Kaitoke, so keep dogs on a leash wherever signs say so and don't let them scavenge carcasses.

Good to know

This is a working plantation, so logging trucks and machinery may be on forest roads. Follow the signs. No fires or smoking in the exotic forest, and no firewood collection. Hunting is by permit in the Upper Pākuratahi and North Block. Much of the forest has no mobile coverage. Horses aren't allowed in the Pākuratahi Tunnel, on Tāne's Track or in the Tunnel Gully lower picnic area.