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| The southern communities/suburbs of Wellington often bear the brunt of Southerly storms. |
Gale Force
248km/h – Strongest gust ever recorded in Wellington, 1959 & 1962.
233 – Number of days winds topped gale-force speed in Wellington’s windiest year.
29km/h – Average wind speed at Wellington Airport.
18km/h – Average wind speed at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago. The windiest major airport in the United States.
175 – Average number of days winds top gale force at Wellington Airport each year.
61% - Percent of the time Northerlies & Northwesterlies blow through Wellington.
28% - Percent of the time Southerlies blow through Wellington.
11% - Percent of the time Wellington is calm.
Here on the Red Rocks track, with a 160 metre steep drop down to the shore below, you will be greeted with dazzling views of the Wellington coastline stretching from Sinclair Head to Baring Head, with the numerous populated bays in between and aircraft taking off/landing from the airport which is just out of view from this location, and the open ocean that stretches from the Wellington Harbour entrance right round to the South Island and the Cook Strait. Also visible in the distance is the bunkers on Sinclair Head. If you really did want to, this would also be a spectacular spot to watch the southerlies roll in unimpeded directly from the Cook Strait. Wellington has some of the strongest winds in the world, and some of the most consistent too – gales can last for days at a time, with the northerly being the prevailing wind, and the southerly being the most notorious.
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| Looking back south to "Gale Force" on the Red Rocks Track. |
Cache Details & Information
This translucent 2 litre Sistema cache is hidden near the cliff edge, near a track bifurcation where one split goes around a small hillock, and the other goes over it. When placed it contained a logbook, pen, logbag & geocaching notice. The Red Rocks Track is a very popular walk/bike, so please use stealth and replace it exactly as you found it.
To access just this cache, the most straightforward approach is to attack it from the Red Rocks coast, ascending from the trailhead. On the flipside, one could also elect to tackle this from Hawkins Hill directly, walking downhill on the Red Rocks Track until the cache is reached.
The Te Kopahou Loop
The Te Kopahou Loop is a demanding and strenuous half-day 17.7 kilometre loop which takes you to some spectacular sights and locations in Wellington – from peaks to the shore, and right around the edge of Te Kopahou Reserve. It reaches a maximum elevation of 495 metres, and drops right down to coast, with over 1080 metres of ascent and descent each. It reaches a maximum gradient of 55.6%, steeper than the final climb/initial drop on the West Wind Opau Loop track. We completed this track in 6 hours 31 minutes, including stops for photos cache placing, cache finding & lunch. If you intend to attempt the loop, allow for at least 6 hours worth of walking/biking. This figure is highly dependent on whether you choose to walk or bike to Hawkins Hill from the turbine or Aston Fitchett Drive. We’ve chosen what we think is a good method below:
It all starts at the Brooklyn Wind Turbine – where you bike for 10 minutes along the 2.6 kilometre sealed Hawkins Hill access road until you reach the beginning of the Red Rocks Track just before the radome and past the mysterious castle house. At this point you can leave and lock the bikes (you’ll see why later), walk up to the radome, grab the Hawkins Hill cache, and progress onwards as the sealed road turns into a 2 kilometre flat dirt road known as the ‘Te Kopahou Track’ towards Te Kopahou trig, 10 metres lower in elevation in relation to Hawkins Hill. Roughly two thirds of your way along, you can the grab “All Three”, before continuing to your first destination where you can nab the self-titled cache at this location.
From Te Kopahou Trig – you start walking on what is called the ‘Bunker Track’ towards three WWII observation bunkers perched 170 metres above sea level on Sinclair Head. The track condition changes dramatically for the worse, and takes a nosedive with an average gradient of 30%, approaching 50% at times – down to an elevation of 220 metres before ascending slightly, and then again plummeting down to 140 metres with a gradient exceeding 55% - the steepest point of the trip. Remember to pick up “Protecting Our Shores” while you’re there!
Getting down off Sinclair Head to the shore is a bit of a mess – using a poorly marked route called ‘Ribs Exit’, and is probably not suited to mountain bikers, as you are walking through a small stream, mud, brushing past shrub at an angle of attack of up to 50%. From here, you can wander across the Red Rocks coastline to the coastal beginning of the Red Rocks Track, which will take you back up to your bikes. Along the way, you can pick up this cache followed by “Boundary Issues”, and once you’re back at the bikes, you can snatch “Red Rocks Track”, if you haven’t already done so.
Be sure to bring your camera with you as there are some spectacular views, some warm/windproof clothing, as it can get quite gusty up there, along with some food and drink. There should be cellphone reception along pretty much all the ridges, although you may lose it as you descend into valleys and possibly on the coastline. Enjoy!