Wellington/Upper Hutt

Upper Hutt is a city in the upper (northern) Hutt Valley, near Wellington, in the Greater Wellington region of the North Island of New Zealand.

Understand
Upper Hutt is not part of Hutt City, another name for nearby Lower Hutt.
 * Upper Hutt City Council website

Get in
There are five roads into and out of Upper Hutt. State Highway 2, which runs the length of the upper Hutt valley, is known as River Road as it runs along the banks of the Hutt River, effectively bypassing the city.

By bus
The Upper Hutt – Petone (route 110) bus travels from Petone Station via the Lower Hutt Queensgate bus interchange to Upper Hutt every 15 minute during weekdays and half hourly in the evenings and at weekends.

By car

 * From Wellington, State Highway 2 (SH2) travels along the Hutt Road past Lower Hutt and the intersection with State Highway 58 (SH58) at Haywards/Manor Park to the Silverstream Bridge.
 * From the Wairarapa, State Highway 2 travels over the Rimutaka Hill to Upper Hutt.
 * There are major intersections and bridges along River Road that provide ready access to most Upper Hutt suburbs. At most times of the day, this means it is about a half-hour trip from Wellington CBD to Upper Hutt, a distance of about 40 km.  During rush hour, the journey can take an hour or more.
 * The Eastern Hutt Road provides an alternative route between Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt via Stokes Valley.
 * Moonshine Hill Road provides a rural alternative route from State Highway 58 at the western end of Haywards hill at Judgeford to State Highway 2 at the Moonshine Bridge in Upper Hutt.
 * Akatarawa Road provides a scenic drive between Waikanae and Upper Hutt. The road is single lane for about 30 km, and may take an hour of cautious driving at 30-50 km/h, well below the 50–70 km/h posted speed limit.  There are a number of places of interest along this road, including Staglands wildlife park.

By train
Metlink suburban train services run between Wellington and central Upper Hutt at 30-minute intervals for most of the day. The journey time to Upper Hutt from Wellington is typically 45 minutes. Single adult fares to Upper Hutt station are $9.00 at peak and $7.50 off peak.

See

 * Bartons Bush in Trentham Memorial Park is the last remaining stand of native bush that once covered the whole of the Hutt valley.
 * California Park in the suburb of Totara Park and the Wellington Fault that runs through the middle of the park and the suburb. To find this feature drive the loop around California Drive. When you come to the wide section with the large grassed traffic islands in the middle realise you are driving on an earthquake fault.
 * Harcourt Park, the main entrance is about 500 m up Akatarawa Road from the State Highway 2 intersection. You can also see the Wellington Fault escarpment right by the main carpark. There is an information board here about how the park was formed by the Wellington Fault. This park was one of the scenes for shooting the Lord of the Rings films. There is also a 18 hole disc golf course, maps are available from the city council information store.
 * Silverstream Railway, a short preserved section of the original 1870s Wellington-Wairarapa line, which bypassed in the early 1950s when the new Silverstream Rail Bridge opened. Steam trains operate on Sundays. Malcolm Campbell is Upper Hutt's most famous train enthusiast with a love for all things "rail". Incidentally, Mr Campbell's mother also has a claim to fame as she featured as one of the Orcs in all three of the Lord of the Rings films.
 * Take a scenic drive up Akatarawa Road to Staglands farm park.
 * At the top of the Rimutaka Hill you can take a break in your trip to the Waiarapa and climb up to the Rimutaka Trig and see the Wairarapa instead. Choose a calm sunny day as this part of the country can be very windy.

Do

 * Tunnel Gully and the Rimutaka Incline walkways. Walk or mountain bike the old railway route over the Rimutaka ranges.
 * The Hutt River is easily accessible for most of its length. It is even able to be fished for trout - a fishing licence is required.
 * Mountain bike the Karapoti! Every year mountainbikers from around the country and around the world come to take on the Karapoti Challenge - a classic mountain bike race. Mud, steep hills and crazy people. http://www.mountainbike.co.nz/karapoti/

Buy
The central shopping centre runs the length of Main Street, with the block on either side also having some shops. There are 3 supermarkets in this area, as well as the oddly named Trentham City Plaza. Generous amounts of free off-street parking can be found in carparks accessed from Fergusson Drive or Queen Street.

There are smaller groups of shops dotted along the length of Fergusson Drive, between Silverstream and Brown Owl, as well as a supermarket in Silverstream and a small shopping centre in Totara Park.

Eat
Several restaurants and fast food outlets can be found in Main Street or nearby. The ubiquitous New Zealand Fish and Chip shop, or perhaps a burger bar, dot the suburbs, often near a dairy or one of a group of shops.

Drink
There are many great pubs and clubs in Upper Hutt. Amongst these the Totara Lodge is the most widely known. Situated at Trentham adjacent to the train station and Wellington Racing Club the "Tote" has a strong racing connection. The best day of the year in Trentham comes on the 4th Saturday of January each year when the Wellington Cup is run. This race is one of Australasia's premier 2 mile events with previous winners including the great Carbine and Kiwi who went onto success at the Melbourne Cup. The Tote is definitely the place to be come Wellington Cup Day.