Eastbourne’s $80m shared pathway opens next week

Friday, 10 April 2026

Tupua Horo Nuku, the long-awaited shared pathway from Ngau Matau/Point Howard to Eastbourne at the eastern bays of the Hutt Valley, will be fully open next Saturday, April 18.

The $79.95 million, 4.4km path provides a separated walking and cycling track along Marine Drive and acts as a seawall to protect the key road and the major treated wastewater discharge pipe from the rising sea and extreme weather.

A section of the route between Days Bay and Eastbourne already opened in late 2023.

Lower Hutt mayor Fauono Ken Laban said it was a “very exciting time” for the city.

“Our hope is that you will be able to cycle or walk from wherever you live in the Hutt to Wellington. This is the first of its kind in Aoteaora New Zealand,” he said.

Although the past two years of its construction caused inconvenience to nearby residents, Laban hoped the end justified the means.

“We're very excited about what this means for the future of our city, and we're very grateful and very appreciative for the patience of our community that have put up with all the disruption over the last couple of years.”

Hutt South MP and Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the upcoming opening would be a “great moment”. His family had been going for walks and his children tried out the path on their bikes and tricycles.

Originally budgeted at $30m, Tupua Horo Nuku’s costs jumped to $80m in the space of six months because of expensive materials, shipping and labour shortages.

The Hutt City Council, the Government and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) split the final bill: ratepayers spent $24.4m, Waka Kotahi spent another $25.5m and the Government covered the remaining $30m.

The public opening on April 18 kicks off at 10am, spanning from Whiorau Reserve, Williams Park at Days Bay and the tennis courts of San Antonio School in Eastbourne, with family-friendly activities like bubbles, play trailers and free bike checks along the way.

Tupua Horo Nuku is not the only seawall that could double up as a walking and cycling route to open in Wellington this year.

The 12km-long section of the Ngāuranga to Petone section of the Te Ara Tupua transport project – which acts as a separated cycle and walking track on top of protecting State Highway 2 and the neighbouring rail track – is expected to open by mid-year.

Both routes, joined together by the existing shared path along the waterfront at Petone, make cycling from Wellington to Eastbourne around Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington Harbour possible.

Bishop said that while they were primarily built as sea walls for resilience, it “made sense” for both Tupua Horo Nuku and Te Ara Tupua to have a shared path on top.

“You get multiple benefits from resilience through to increased active modes of transport. We are very fortunate to have both these projects come into fruition and opening about the same time.”

Local Democracy Reporting (LDR) is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air