Walking the Mākara Walkway Loop Track.

A few weeks ago, my partner and I walked the Mākara Walkway Loop Track. Mākara is a rural area between Wellington City and the Tasman Sea. The 7km loop track starts at Mākara Beach and runs south along the ruggard coast line, below steep cliffs in places, to Opau Bay where it heads up a steep valley through farmland to the ridge. A large wind farm runs along the ridge, 62 turbines in total. The track passes very close to one of the massive turbines. It’s incredible how large they are up close. At the highest point the track passes several concrete gun emplacements built during World War II (the guns are long gone).

This is the view from Opau Bay. We stopped here for a rest and enough time for me to do this quick sketch. It was a hot summers day and there is no shade, so we didn’t stop for long. The South Island was clearly visible. It is only about 25km away.

Here is another view I sketched on the walkway in 2015. This time in winter. It was cold and blowing a gale, but still beautiful.

Dave Black is an IT professional based in Wellington, New Zealand. Dave has been Urban sketching for about ten years and is a member (and admin) of the Urban Sketchers Wellington group.