Local Info

Things to do in Petone and nearby

Hutt City Riverbank Market

Every Saturday head to the Riverbank Market for fresh produce and a great atmosphere. There's plenty of offer!
Every Saturday | 8am - 2pm

Buy fresh and head down to the Riverbank carpark every Saturday for your weekly grocery shop. It's the Hutt's 'one stop shop' for fruit, vegetables and fresh produce including fish, meat and bread. You will also spot arts, crafts and clothing for sale.
Riverbank Market
event riverbankmarket.jpg

Jackson Street Petone

100m from Ava Lodge (1min walk)

Jackson Street, Petone has grown over recent years to be the Hutt Valley's number one attraction for visitors. Jackson Street is a heritage icon, combining an eclectic mix of old buildings with funky cafés, galleries and boutique shopping. The retail strip boasts a huge variety of specialty shops, cafés, bars and restaurants.
More Info
CroppedImage660324 Home StreetScene1.jpg

Te Papa - Museum of New Zealand

Te Papa is New Zealand’s national museum, renowned for being bicultural, scholarly, innovative, and fun for all age groups. The success of the museum is built from relationships with an ability to represent the community.

Their collections span five areas: Art, History, Pacific, Mâori, and Natural Environment. With exhibitions that are interactive, it is a great place to visit while exploring the countries history in Wellington. Te Papa is located on Wellington's waterfront. Open every day from 10 am to 6 pm and until 9 pm on Thursdays. General admission is free.

More Info
Te papa

The Weta Cave

Located in Miramar, Weta Workshop is a multi-award winning conceptual design and physical manufacturing facility servicing the world's entertainment and creative industries.

The Weta Cave provides a behind-the-scenes look at Weta and screens interviews with Weta co-founders Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger, and Jamie Selkirk. You will be given an exclusive insight into the creativity and imagination that goes into crafting the art of Weta. In Weta's mini-museum, you come face to face with some of the characters, props, and displays from your favorite movies.

More Info
Weta cave

Go and Play at Days Bay

A sandy beach with bush-clad hills behind, Days Beach is a beautiful place to visit no matter the season. It's particularly popular during the warmer months for swimming and picnicking. Hire kayaks and paddleboards from WildFinder or head up into the hills for a bushwalk. 

Days Bay has a couple of great cafés for lunch or dinner and an ice cream shop. To get there, drive around the harbour to Days Bay from Petone or take the East by West ferry across the harbour. 

More Info
days bay beach

Remutaka Cycle Trail

One of New Zealand’s Great Rides, the Remutaka Cycle Trail is one for your bucket list. Starting near the creative and culinary capital, Wellington, travel through Lower Hutt, nestled by the Hutt River, and Upper Hutt, set amongst bush-clad hills. An old rail trail leads you through the Remutaka Ranges, to the country roads of rural Wairarapa and its boutique vineyards. The final section takes you along the rugged South Coast, where mountains dive into the Pacific Ocean.

More Info
remutaka trail

Mākara Peak Mountain Bike Park

A world-class park offering more than 40 mountain biking trails set amongst 250 hectares of spectacular native bush, Mākara Peak Mountain Bike Park is a destination for all mountain biking enthusiasts. With expertly-designed tracks weaving their way around Mākara Peak, this mountain bike park offers something for everyone – from beginners through to experts and all family members. Enjoy stunning views over the suburb of Karori, central Wellington, and as far as the South Island.

More Info
MP+Enduro+3

Escarpment Track

Take in spectacular views of Kāpiti Island from high above the Kāpiti Coastline on one of the region’s finest walking experiences. The Escarpment Track is not for the faint-hearted: you’ll climb 220 metres above sea level, scale around 2,000 steep steps, navigate narrow pathways across ridgelines and traverse two swing bridges. Head out on an adventure and make a day of this 10km long trail.

More Info
Te Araroa Paekakariki Escarpment Walk

Southern Walkway

The Southern Walkway is beloved to Wellington locals and visitors alike. Starting in Wellington’s CBD on Oriental Parade and following the Town Belt through some of the city’s best loved parks and suburbs, the Southern Walkway winds all the way to Island Bay. There’s view and sights all along the way: take in the panoramic views of the city from the top of Mt Vic, see famous film locations from The Lord of the Rings, traverse suburbs on urban bush trails to arrive at the wild grandeur of the South Coast.

More Info
Southern walkway

Skyline Track

One of Wellington’s premier trails, the Skyline Track is a journey along Wellington’s highest ridgelines and peaks, from Mākara Peak, past Mount Kaukau to Johnsonville. The historical Skyline trail makes the perfect adventure either on bike or on foot and in either direction, and you can customise your experience with the many starting and exits points.

This trail involves some challenging steep terrain, but you’ll be rewarded for your effort with panorama views across the Wellington region, and it’s easy to take a bus or train back to the city afterwards.

More Info
Skyline Walkway Trail

Zealandia

ZEALANDIA is the world’s first fully-fenced urban ecosanctuary, with an extraordinary 500-year vision to restore a Wellington valley’s forest and freshwater ecosystems as closely as possible to their pre-human state. The 225 hectare (500+ acre) ecosanctuary is a groundbreaking conservation project that has reintroduced 18 species of native wildlife back into the area, some of which were previously absent from mainland New Zealand for over 100 years. 

More Info
Tieke Jenice McKenna