Birchville Dam

Highlights: Swing bridge, waterfalls, bush walk, a dam

Length: 40 min (plenty of additional tracks if you'd like to go for longer)

Where: 35 min by car from Wellington CBD

What to take: Active wear, water, snacks, camera

Hugely underrated, the walk to Birchville Dam is a short, sharp stroll full of exciting features.

Getting there: The Birchville Dam is located near Totara Park, 35 mins from Wellington CBD. Head along SH2 towards Upper Hutt and, shortly after the Silverstream turn off, take the Totara Park Road exit on your left. Follow the road through two of what are possibly the world's largest roundabouts and carry on to California Drive. Take the third left onto Larchmont Grove which turns into Bridge Road. Bridge Road is very narrow and requires a temporary traffic light to signal drivers to pass (and requires some patience). The car park for the start of the walk is on your immediate left once you have passed through the signalled part of Bridge Road.

The walk begins with a fantastic, very bouncy swing bridge from the car park across the river. The track then follows alongside the river, with a great, quick detour about five minutes into the walk down to a small waterfall. Back on the main walk, the path is enclosed by beautiful native bush. After about fifteen minutes the cascading falls from the dam make themselves heard and then seen, while from above the dam is a picture perfect mirror surrounded by hills of dense bush. If you want a bit of a workout, you can carry on along the Cannon Point walkway, which continues for about 10km up and along the ridge line. Otherwise, simply return to your car the way you came.

More info available here.