walks

Te Ara Pukapuka Children’s Walk at Karori Park

Joseph Robinson

This Summer, get into nature and read a lovely pukapuka at the same time!

Throughout 2023, Te Ara Pukapuka, our children’s book walk, has travelled all around the city from Churchill Park in Seatoun, to Khandallah Park, Kilbirnie Park and Waihinahina Park, Newlands. For Summer 2023—2024, we venture into the walking tracks of Karori Park! Follow each page from one to the next as you wander through the park, taking in the gorgeous sights.

A welcome page is displayed on a post, with an arrow pointing in the direction of the walk.

Our Te Ara Pukapuka welcome page

Te Ara Pukapuka Karori Park begins near the carpark at the southern end of the field, close to Sunshine Kindergarten, 21a Sunshine Avenue, Karori, Wellington 6012.  You can find the entrance on google maps.

Wellington City Libraries and the Wellington City Parks, Sport & Recreation team have again partnered with publisher Scholastic NZ to present a reorua bilingual edition of Ko Tama me te Taniwha / Tama and the Taniwha written by Melanie Koster, illustrated by Monica Koster and translated by Pānia Papa. This wonderful pukapuka is available to borrow from our libraries, and to buy from all good bookstores!

Be aware that Karori Park is a popular dog-walking area, so be prepared to meet some kurī on your travels! Keep an eye out for a couple of bike tracks that briefly intersect with Te Ara Pukapuka.

Two park benches and a post displaying the pages of a book stand beside a walk way.

A great place to stop for a picnic midway on the Karori Park Te Ara Pukapuka journey!


Don’t forget to log reading this pukapuka towards your Summer Reading Adventure too! What’s Summer Reading Adventure? If you aren’t signed up yet, you can find out all the information that you need on our post The Summer Reading Adventure is Here! – Kids’ Blog (wcl.govt.nz).

Kids can also find Te Ara Pukapuka listed as an activity for Summer Reading Adventure within the Capital City Quest arc, so be sure to mark this one off as you work towards achieving SRA prizes!

Ngā mihi to all the wonderful people who have supported Te Ara Pukapuka! Happy reading everyone!

Te Ara Pukapuka at Waihinahina Park Newlands

Stephen Clothier

Earlier this year, some of you might have visited Te Ara Pukapuka, whether at Kilbirnie Park during the Winter, Khandallah Park during Autumn, or at Churchill Park in Seatoun over the Summer.

The Spring instalment of Te Ara Pukapuka (The Book Pathway) has now arrived at Waihinahina Park in Newlands, complete with a new pukapuka for tamariki to read as they play and explore! Follow each page from one to the next as you wander through the park, taking in the gorgeous sights and listening to the calls of tūī and pīwakawaka as you do.

Did you know that there are over 20 names for the fantail in different dialects of te reo Māori? Some of our librarians grew up calling them pīwakawaka, while others called them pīwaiwaka, tīraireka, or even kōtuitui. You can explore some of the different names using Te Aka Māori Dictionary!

Pages of a book sit on a post, near a bench, overlooking the Wellington harbour

Read a wonderful pukapuka while you take in the beautiful views!


We have partnered with our friends in the Wellington City Parks, Sport & Recreation team, Newlands and Tawa Community Centres, and publisher Scholastic New Zealand to bring you a fabulous bilingual story — Flit the Fantail and the Flying Flop / Ko Flit, Te Tīrairaka te Rerenga i Hē, written and illustrated by Kat Quin, and translated into te reo Māori by Ngaere Roberts. By the time you reach the end of the trail, you will have found the last page of the pukapuka!

We are grateful to be able to share such a beautiful story about native manu at this joyous time of year! Te Ara Pukapuka begins near the end of Ladbrooke Drive, Newlands (find the entrance on Google Maps). The path will take you past some stunning views of the coast and the quarry. Be aware that Waihinahina Park is a popular dog-walking area, so be prepared to meet some kurī on your travels!

There used to be a landfill at this location, which means that there is a chance you may spot some waste that has worked its way to the surface while you explore. Please don’t remove this, but think of it as a reminder that we should all do our best to recycle and be mindful to keep as much waste out of our landfills as possible.

Pages of a story sit on a post, hills in background.

Te Ara Pukapuka awaits intrepid explorers!


Ngā mihi to the fabulous team at Scholastic for their support! Flit the Fantail and the Flying Flop / Ko Flit, Te Tīrairaka te Rerenga i Hē is available to borrow from our libraries, and to buy from all good bookstores.

Te Ara Pukapuka Children’s Walk at Khandallah Park

Stephen Clothier

During the summer, some of you might have visited Te Ara Pukapuka (The Book Pathway) at Churchill Park in Seatoun. Tamariki and their whānau had the opportunity to explore the rugged and beautiful coastline while immersing themselves in a beautiful story, The Taniwha of Te Whanganui-a-Tara, by author Moira Wairama.

Good news — we have again partnered with our friends in Wellington City Parks, Sport & Recreation team as well as author Gay Hay to present Te Ara Pukapuka at Khandallah Park for the autumn!

A large, flat board atop a wooden post stands in front of a tangle of lush greenery at the entrance to Khandallah Park's Skyline Track.

The opening page of Te Ara Pukapuka awaits you at Khandallah Park!


This walk begins at the end of the Khandallah Park Playground in Khandallah, near the Skyline Track (map of Woodmancote Road entrance), where a trip to the bush can extend to a walk inspired by a very special story about the Powelliphanta snail, a giant carnivorous native snail that can be found living right here in Khandallah Park! If you’d like to learn more about these slow-moving giants, who like to slurp up earthworms like spaghetti, a great place to start is by reading this article from the Te Papa blog about their history in Khandallah.

As you walk through the park trails, you will encounter more and more pages of Gay Hay’s beautiful pukapuka, Watch Out, Snail!, with the promise of a continuation of the story always just around the next corner. Can you find all of the pages?

This page is nestled in a bush just off the beaten track!


Te Ara Pukapuka will remain up at Khandallah Park throughout the holidays and into Term 2, so explore it while you can!