Te Ara Piko path one step closer

Sightseers are one step closer to being able to walk around Pauatahanui Inlet.

The first section of Te Ara Piko – nine kilometres long – was officially opened at the Lighthouse Cinema in the Pauatahanui Village on Wednesday.

Plimmerton Rotary president and project manager Ron Lucas said the nine-year process was a big milestone.

The next stage, 1.8km long, will be from Motukaraka Point to the water ski club.

The new walkway will join with the Camborne pathway and allow safe passage around the Inlet. It has already begun with a consultation process.

Lucas said he hoped the next step would be faster than the first and be finished by 2020. It was projected to cost about $2 million, almost double the cost of the last section.

Lucas said Plimmerton Rotary would be raising money for the project over the next few months.

Te Ara Piko, which means the meandering path, has been a joint project between Rotary and Porirua City Council since 2005.

Te Ara Piko has won several national awards, including the Recreational Volunteers Award in the Encore Awards and the Heritage and Environment Category of the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards last year.

The path was Plimmerton Rotary Club’s centenary project, marking 100 years of Rotary International.