Ciclovia Miramar

My Ciclovia walk: Seatoun to Kilbirnie

Yesterday I took advantage of the cracking weekend weather to participate in a community walking and cycling expedition around the Miramar peninsula. The Ciclovia Wellington event involved banning cars from the northern end of the peninsula from Shelly Bay round to Scorching Bay. While most people cycled the route, I don't have a bike, so I walked it instead. It seemed to be popular with families, who if my observations are representative spent most of the afternoon trying to remind their little dears to pay attention when hurtling down a road next to escarpments overlooking rocky beaches, and not to weave across the road like pint-sized versions of the driver in Carmageddon.

I could've driven out to Miramar, but because it was such a nice day I decided to take the Days Bay ferry to Seatoun instead. I haven't been on the ferry in many years, but it was a perfect day for a harbour trip. (Which reminds me - I really must visit Somes Island one day...) Donning acres of sunscreen to mitigate the effects of the blazing summer sunshine - yes, really - I paused for lunch at a busy Worser Bay before heading north around the peninsula to the start of the car-free zone at Scorching Bay. The beach and cafe there were madly busy, as it was one of those rare days on which Wellingtonians remember that a summer trip to the beach can be nice if it's not howling an Antarctic gale outside. It was such a nice day that I continued on my walk past Shelly Bay as far as the Kilbirnie shops - a total walk of 10.6km.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the event, and it was pleasing to see the stream of traffic hoping to blat around the peninsula being turned back - for once, person power won out over the internal combustion engine. With any luck there'll be more of these events in Wellington: wouldn't it be great to close Oriental Bay to traffic for an afternoon, or even the entire south coast?

See also:
Blog: Pencarrow Lighthouse, 20 January 2014
Blog: Round the ragged rocks, 11 January 2014
Blog: Fort Ballance, Miramar, 5 November 2011