Palmy’s paths
Mike Yardley walks the talk as he crosses the mighty Manawatu¯ River and checks out Palmerston North’s rich scenery
SPARKING SO MUCH BUZZ in Palmerston North is the new He Ara Kotahi Pathway. There aren't many pathways in New Zealand where you traverse dairy farms, forests, pa¯ sites, a military camp, streams and a river in less than nine kilometres, but that's precisely what He Ara Kotahi weaves together.
Just a few minutes from the city centre, a highlight is the 194m bridge that spans Manawatu¯ River. It's a head-turner come nightfall, lustily lit up by luminous spheres.
I grabbed a Beam e-scooter, adjacent to the bridge, and struck off on the pathway taking in the rolling medley of picturesque sights. Initially created as a commuter link to Massey University and Linton Army Camp, there is no denying what a recreational jewel the pathway has become for locals and visitors, alike.
I also “beamed” my way to Victoria Esplanade, another urban oasis where formal gardens, bush walks and leisure facilities including a fabulous miniature railway, grace this 26-hectare park.
The Dugald McKenzie rose garden is a revelation, with over 5500 varieties and incorporating the International Rose Trial Grounds. After recaffeinating at the gorgeous Cafe´ Esplanade, under that graceful avenue of 90-year-old towering Phoenix palms, I ventured over to Wildbase Recovery. Free to enter and just celebrating its third birthday, this specialist centre provides shelter and care for injured or ill native wildlife recovering after treatment at
Massey University's Wildbase Hospital.
They have some resident wildlife, including tuatara, kaka, kereru, whio and pateke, but the centre is primarily focused on after-care and rehab, prior to their patients being released back into the wild. It's a delight to explore and engage with the on-site wildlife technicians, as they nurse their patients back to good health in the collection of aviaries.
Mix some casual exercise with some culture, by grabbing an Arts Trail map from the i-SITE in The Square and feasting your eyes on the city centre's eclectic array of 32 murals, mosaics, installations and sculptures on a leisurely 90-minute stroll.
Gazing east of the city, the corrugated dragon-like spine of the Tararua and Ruahine Ranges frames the horizon, a backdrop of billboard proportions underscoring the region's outdoorsy credentials. Those ranges are also a striking reminder that the region is wrongly perceived as being pancake-flat.
I took the short drive east of the city to step out on the region's signature Te A¯ piti-Manawatu¯ Gorge walking trail. Landslips forced the permanent closure of the gorge road five years ago and the new highway route is currently being constructed over the Ruahine Range, scheduled for completion in two years.
With the rumble of vehicle traffic permanently silenced from the gorge, it's the cacophony of birdsong that rules the roost, thriving in the bush-cloaked gorge, coursing through the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges.
The mighty Manawatu¯ is unusual in that it crosses a mountain range, with its headwaters lying close to Norsewood on the eastern slopes of the Ruahines.
I made a beeline for the Manawatu¯ Gorge Loop track, an easy stroll of 1.2km through native bush. Branching off it is the longer Tawa Loop Track, which is deliciously good. Set aside two hours to knock off this 4km-long route, which follows a steady gradient and is steep in places.
Your huffing and puffing will be handsomely rewarded with a heart-stealing view across the sinuous curves of the bushwrapped gorge. Keep an eye out for Whatonga, a stirring 6m-high steel sculpture of the Rangita¯ne chief who captained the Kurahaupo¯ waka when it landed in the 12th-century.
Eight Ma¯ori-inspired information panels also tell the story of the region's Ma¯ori heritage and culture. I adored the rich array of native plants, headlined by the soothing nikau groves and red flowering rata. It's a banger of a walk.