Paekākāriki, also written Paekakariki, is a small beachside town in the Kapiti Coast and Greater Wellington region of New Zealand's North Island.

Understand

Paekakariki is a small town at the very south of the Kapiti Coast District.

Get in

Paekākāriki is 45km north of Wellington (the national capital). This is a 30-60 minute drive depending on traffic. Palmerston North is the closest city to the north, and is about 100km to the north-northeast or just over an hour's drive.

By plane

The nearest airport is in Paraparaumu, this is a domestic airport with flights to Auckland, Nelson and Blenheim. Wellington Airport is a major New Zealand airport with international flights and Palmerston North also has a domestic airport.

By bus

InterCity operates several scheduled bus services through Paekākāriki.

By train

Main article: Rail travel in New Zealand

The Northern Explorer has 3 trains a week running from Auckland to Wellington and back that stop at Paraparaumu, which is 5–10 minutes north of Paekākāriki. Paekākāriki also has its own train station and services running between Wellington and Waikanae operate once or twice every hour on the Metlink Kapiti Line.

Get around

The Metlink 251 Paekakariki - Paraparaumu - Kapiti Health Centre bus runs on a Tuesday, Thursday and Friday around Paekākāriki and also goes between Paekākāriki and Paraparaumu.

See

To the north of Paekākāriki is the Queen Elizabeth II Park, a nice park which also houses a memorial to the US Marines that were stationed at Paekākāriki during World War II. This is actually in Paraparaumu, but it is directly north of Paekākāriki township and the Marines memorial contains information about Paekākāriki history.

• 1 Paekakariki Station Museum, State Highway One, PO Box 57, Paekakariki 5034, ☏ +64 905 8275, stationmaster@stationmuseum.co.nz. 11AM-3PM (weekends only). Small museum with exhibits on local history topics. Set in the Paekakariki railway station building. (updated Feb 2018)

Do

• 1 Paekakariki Escarpment Walk. A lovely intermediate grade 10km walk with great views of the coastal reserve, set in farmland with some swing bridges. Goes up 200m, with some steep steps. Start at either Pukerua Bay or Paekakariki railway stations, do the walk to the other one and take a train back. Part of Te Araroa walkway. (updated Feb 2018)

Go next

• Paraparaumu – to the north
• Porirua – to the south