Thanks to community work offenders, Wellington City Council has opened a new section of track on Wellington's spectacular Southern Walkway.
Stretching between Island Bay's Buckley Rd and Houghton Bay Rd, the 1.5km track also features a short detour to a new Cook Strait look-out and newly installed signage and seating built by the work teams.
Wellington City Council Park Ranger Brian Thomas says the year-long project is a good example of offenders creating a 'valuable community asset' to repay their debt to society.
"It was a challenging project but they did a great job and the views across Wellington's rocky coastline and the airport are spectacular," says Brian.
"It can be extremely windy when entering the Buckley Rd end of the track but the minute you dip down into the valley the bush shelters you all the way down to the Houghton Bay Reserve."
Brian says the track extension was first mooted by volunteers who had been weeding and planting the area. The volunteers approached the council which in turn approached Corrections.
"Community work teams have had a huge impact here in Wellington. They've upgraded mountain bike tracks on Mount Victoria, built a range of new walking tracks and helped to maintain the city's cemeteries."
Further work is now being 'scoped out' in Brooklyn's Prince of Wales Park where it's hoped offenders will build a track up to Coolidge St.
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