Lower Hutt is a metropolitan in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is managed by the Hutt City Council and is one of the four cities that establish the Wellington metropolitan area. Explore an exclusive folk history and enter into some of the area’s exciting art galleries and museums. The Maori Treasures Complex is an area of interest where you can acquire information about Maori culture through exhibitions.
1. Rimutaka Forest Park
Rimutaka Forest Park is a splendid park consisting mostly of aboriginal trees, in the east of Wellington. It incorporates the Rimutaka Ranges and the Orongorongo River, north of the remarkable earthquake terraces and the seal colony at the Turakirae Head Scientific Reserve. The Rimutaka Forest Park is categorized by steep, bush hills and fern-filled gorges, dampened by the ample freshwater streams and the stunning Orongorongo River. All over the forest park, there are numerous signposted walking tracks, assisting the bushwalkers and nature lovers of all ages and capabilities.
The Rimutaka Forest Park can be effortlessly reached by road from Wellington or Lower Hutt by taking the hill road to Wainuiomata and staying on course with all the signs to the Coast Road, turning left at the Catchpool Stream access road into the park.
Rimutaka Forest Park
Address: Rimutaka Forest Park, 5373, New Zealand
Website: Rimutaka Forest Park
2. Percy Scenic Reserve
Percy Scenic Reserve is a stunningly beautiful park of Lower Hutt City. With a combination of garden areas to promenades, walking tracks passing a waterfall to ponds with ducks, take an easy stroll and enjoy the picnic shelters. There’s enough for you to do the entire day with the family. You’re in for an indulgence of excitement when you come to the Weta Cave, where the glow worms are in abundance that lends the cave a magical feeling. Here, you will also witness Hutt Valley’s splendid waterfalls further on.
Percy Scenic Reserve offers a mix of recreation and convenience in a small setting, which is interesting, to say the least. It also has connections to the original settlement in the region, with historic plant assortments of scientific importance. Pack a picnic, take a nice leisurely stroll in the park and appreciate the birdlife. Please note that the park does not permit entry of pets, so plan accordingly.
Percy Scenic Reserve
Address: 5 Dowse Drive, Maungaraki, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Website: Percy Scenic Reserve
3. Dowse Art Museum
The Dowse, originated in 1971, contains New Zealand’s largest and most noteworthy public art collection, totaling over 2,000 items. From displays, workshops, artist discussions, conferences, installation, to education, you couldn’t ask for more. Having accepted an extensive six-million-dollar makeover by Athfield Architects in 2006, The Dowse Art Museum has been manifested into a cultural centre, with an extensive display of fashion, jewelry, multi-media monographs and intricately fashioned ceramics.
Throughout the gallery is a series of visual displays that variate every month or two, along with a dash of creative posts for visitors to take charge of their inner-artist and get some artwork done in the gallery. The gallery also contains a café and a gallery shop, an outdoor patio, conference amenities and an art workshop specifically designed for hands-on classes and programs.
Dowse Art Museum
Address: 45 Laings Rd, Lower Hutt 5010, New Zealand
Website: The Dowse
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4. Petone Settlers Museum
Located on the coasts of Wellington’s harbor, the Petone Settlers Museum inhabits one of New Zealand’s most momentous edifices - the Wellington Provincial Centennial Memorial. The memorial was constructed to commemorate the arrival of the first British immigrants to Pito-one’s shores in 1840. The Wellington Provincial Centennial Memorial serves as a bathing pavilion and is the heart of Petone’s blooming beach scene.
The Petone Settlers Museum rejuvenated its interior and exterior designs and re-opened In May 2016. Changes to the outdoor fetched back the original look and feel, bringing back the building to its original color and restoring the decorative window grills. The interior of the museum now brags exhilarating new displays. Enjoy the stylish glamour of Miss Hutt Valley and sense the raw fortitude of Petone’s sporting champions. Walk back in time to admire the fabrics and fantasies from 1958 on sale at Carey’s Drapery. Experience the circumstances that the European colonists suffered to get to Petone’s shore in 1940, in the replica of the ship’s steerage cabin.
Petone Settlers Museum
Address: Petone, Lower Hutt 5012, New Zealand
Website: Petone Settlers Museum
5. Korokoro Dam
Korokoro Dam Waterfall is among the numerous waterfalls situated in Belmont Regional Park, and is reachable. Situated at Wattle Grove, Maungaraki in Lower Hutt just half an hour’s drive from Central Wellington, this waterfall will seem conspicuously perfect, mainly because it was likely erected by the dam builders. If you are an avid photographer, this one is highly endorsed to visit! This consistently categorised track trails an old steel pipeline from the Cornish Street entrance upstream over mature and reviving bush to the Korokoro Dam. The Korokoro Dam was the first gravity fed concrete dam in New Zealand, constructed to source water for the Petone Borough in 1903.
To reach Korokoro Dam, all you have to do is find Belmont Regional Park carpark, where you will find plenty of car parking space. However, there are no toilet facilities, so come prepare accordingly. You can take a walk whichever way, as the track goes around in a loop, so it does not matter where you start. Either way, the return trek is going to take most people an hour. The Korokoro Dam Loop walking track leads you to admire the beautiful 8 meter (26 foot) multistep waterfall.
Korokoro Dam
Address: Belmont Regional Park Oakleigh St, Maungaraki, Lower Hutt 5010, New Zealand
Website: Korokoro Dam
Take the path to discover new experiences
Appreciate and adore the excellent museums and art galleries, the drive by the Eastbourne bays. Lower Hutt is an outdoor retreat filled with pristine walking and cycling trails, counting the Rimutaka Cycle Trail, which was elected as the best new world travel experiences. Lower Hutt has numerous charms that tourists will love to experience, and Lower Hutt always touches a chord of all ages, tastes and budgets. From adrenaline-pumping escapades to a soothing day out, you need never be jaded in Lower Hutt.
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