Greater Wellington Regional Council — Battle Hill Farm Forest Park

This is a great spot for a day out, picnics and camping. It has 500 hectares of rolling paddocks, native bush and forestry, plus an indoor arena for Riding for the Disabled.

Opening hours

Daily from 8am until sunset

Battle Hill Farm Forest Park notices

Covid-19 update

Posted 14/4/22

The Wellington Region moved to the ORANGE setting of the COVID-19 Protection Framework at 11:59pm, Wednesday 13 April 2022.

Read the full guidelines >

Underpass work to complete final public paths

Posted 24/9/21

From Friday 24 September there will be works underway at the Battle Hill underpass (Bridge 7). This is excavation work which means to upgrade our current and future track in this area.

The team will be working seven days a week, 7:30am – 5:30pm to have this work completed as quickly as possible. We anticipate this will take 3 weeks to complete.

During this time public assess through the work area will be maintained, and there will be staff on site to help guide the public through. However bear in mind this is an active work site, and we ask that you please remain patient and follow instruction from onsite personnel. Thank you for understanding.

Activities

Opening hours

Daily from 8am until sunset

Activities

Meet the farm

Battle Hill Farm Forest Park is a great place to introduce children to a farm. There is so much for them to see and do.

Feed the farmyard hens
See the lambs in spring
Look in the woolshed and see how sheep are shorn
Help the ranger bring the sheep into the yards and have a close look at their wool

Find out more about Battle Hill's working farm.

Free group visits

The park ranger will introduce the animals and talk to your group for up to an hour. Children usually enjoy a walk around the park afterwards. The centrally located Ken Gray Education Centre is an ideal base for your visit, close to parking and toilet facilities.

Organising your visit

Bookings are essential - contact the Park Ranger by email at battlehill.ranger@gw.govt.nz to book your visit.

A trip can be arranged at short notice if the ranger is available. As Battle Hill is a working farm you will need to book your group during the appropriate season if you wish to focus on a specific farming activity such as shearing or lambing.

Educational visits can be held in inclement weather as long as it does not jeopardise the safety of the group or the livestock. Talk to the ranger if in doubt.

We will need to know:

Your preferred date and time
The name and contact details (address, phone number, email) of the accompanying teacher or instructor
The year or age level of your group
The total number attending
Any special needs or medical concerns (all toilets are wheelchair accessible)

Adult supervision

To make sure you have a safe and orderly visit, each group needs to comply with Ministry of Education regulations for student/ teacher ratios. We ask that the teachers and supervisors be directly responsible for the groups.

Please keep your group from unduly distressing the stock animals. The animals are not pets, and most try to avoid human contact (Maisie the sheep being a distinct exception!). Do not chase, try to pick up or ride the animals.

Tramping

You are welcome to walk and hike throughout the park but keep to the tracks if it's wet.

Some tracks are shared with horse riders and mountain bikers but they must give way to walkers. The front paddocks and bush reserve are closed to horse riders and mountain bikers.

Tracks for walkers and hikers only

Horse riders or mountain bikers may not use these tracks.

Track	Time/grade	Details
Bush Reserve Short Loop	15 minutes / easy	Follow the track to the bush reserve near the Corner Paddock toilets and climb gently for 50m before dropping gradually to the stream. Turn left at the fork and head south, returning over the footbridge to the Corner Paddock. Cross the small bridge slightly upstream of the ford
Summit Loop	1 1/2 hours / moderate	Enter the bush reserve through the gate by the Corner Paddock toilets. Walk along the valley floor before climbing up and out onto farmland to the Battle Hill summit. On a fine day you will have wonderful views south down the Horokiwi Valley towards Pāuatahanui Inlet. Descend to the battle site, then follow the farm track down the ridge back to the Streamside Paddock.

Shared tracks

Everyone can use these tracks - walkers, hikers, horse riders, and mountain bikers.

Track	Time/grade	Details - All tracks start at the Dell carpark.
Restoration Trail	1 hour / easy	Follow the farm road up through the Airstrip between the wetlands and deer paddocks and up onto the Gas Line Ridge overlooking Transmission Gully. Turn right and head south along the top of the ridge beside the deer fence for 300m. Turn right through the horse gate and drop back down to the Airstrip. From here you can head south alongside the stream to the seep area and St Bernard's educational woodlot. Cross to the other side of the Airstrip at the southern end and go through a gate to the riparian (streamside) planting area. Walk back to the carpark alongside the stream. Horse riders and mountain bikers are restricted to the Airstrip.
Wetlands Walk	1 hour / easy	Follow the farm road up through the Airstrip between the wetlands and the deer paddocks. Go through the gate into the Swampy Gully Paddock and follow the farm track up the gully. There is an alternative side loop via a gate into the Swampy Gully wetland. Or keep climbing the main track to the left before looping back to the south and through the gate into the Spring Paddock. Follow the farm track down the paddock and back to the Airstrip and carpark. This is also a good track for novice mountain bikers.
Farm Loop	2 hours / easy	Follow the farm road up the Airstrip, then take the track north through the Oak Paddock, into the Battle Hill Paddock and up the hill. Approximately 200 metres short of the Battle Hill summit a track forks to the right down the hill. Follow this track back to the carpark through the Swampy Gully Paddock, past the wetland area and the deer paddocks.
Transmission Gully Puketiro Loop	4 hours / advanced	Please travel the loop in a clockwise direction and take warm clothing as the hilltops are exposed to strong winds. From the Dell carpark follow the farm road through the Airstrip and over the Gas Line Ridge to Transmission Gully. Follow the markers across the paddock to the stream and take the left-hand gate into the forest. The track climbs the hill through the pine plantation to the top from which you will have great views of the Pāuatahanui Inlet and the South Island on a clear day. Follow the track markers south along the top before continuing downhill back to Transmission Gully. Return to the carpark over the Gas Line Ridge.

Camping

"If you want a bit more of a camping adventure but you are not quite ready for the full bush experience this is the place. A stream runs through it for the kids to paddle in, there is a flat grassy area to pitch your tent, and proper toilet facilities (not long drop!)" Tripadvisor

Camping is open 365 days a year and during our winter months (May-November) there is no need to book. During the summer months (December-April) it is usually a good idea to book your campsite as it has become a very popular place; especially on weekends and holidays. Please feel free to contact us for any information about the facilities.

Please contact the Park Ranger to book your campsite

We operate on a first come, first served basis. The limits on camper numbers at Battle Hill is in accordance with the capacity of our septic tank system.

Facilities

Flushing toilets
Dell carpark electric BBQ at no extra charge - please clean it after use
Our drinking water requires boiling prior to consumption as of 11 April 2022

You can also bring your own portable gas BBQ for cooking.

Campervans

Campervans and caravans are welcome to park anywhere in the designated camping area. We do not recommend crossing the ford to the farthest campsites with long buses or campervans.

There is no dumping station at Battle Hill.

Camping stay limits

You can stay up to:

40 days within a 12 month period
14 days in the period between December 20 and January 31

Fees

Unpowered sites

Adults	$8/night
Children (5-16 years) Adult rates apply for unsupervised 14-16 year olds	$4/night
Under fives	free

Paying for your stay

Please pay via the Pay Machine located at the front of the Homestead Information Centre (first building on your right as you enter the park). It will ask you to enter your vehicle registration, total number of adults, total number of children (aged 5-16), then tap your credit or debit card. No EFTPOS is available. All credit/debit card payments are emailed to the Ranger as a report. The ranger will come by the evening and check all camping fees are paid daily.

Dogs

As Battle Hill is a working farm, dogs are not permitted in the park.

Alcohol

Alcohol may be consumed responsibly by those over the age of 18. Underage drinking is not permitted in the park. Drunken and disorderly behaviour is not permitted and will result in eviction and trespass from the park. Fines of up to $20,000 apply.

Security

The park opens at 6am and is closed each night at 6pm (1 Apr – 30 Sept) or 8pm (1 Oct – 31 Mar). If you need to leave outside opening hours, please contact the Park Ranger at battlehillranger@gw.govt.nz. We recommend parking outside of the gates if you are joining friends for dinner or will be arriving late back from a bike ride/walk.

Mountain Biking

Battle Hill Farm Forest Park provides a range of tracks for intermediate and advanced mountain bikers.

All tracks are shared with horse riders and walkers so keep to the left and watch for others.

Track	Distance & time	Details
Restoration Trail	30 minutes / 2 km return	Start in the Dell carpark, follow the farm road up to the Gas Line Ridge. Turn right at the top of the ridge and follow the ridgeline south through the paddock for about 500m. Turn right and go through the horse gate and down the hill to the Airstrip. Carry your bike over the creek or cross the culvert at the southern end. Return to the Dell across the Airstrip paddock.
Farm Loop	1 hour / 3 km return	Start in the Airstrip paddock follow the left-hand fence line past the woolshed to a farm gate. Blue trail markers take you across the paddock and up a farm track onto the Battle Hill ridgeline. Two hundred metres below the summit, the track veers to the right downhill. Carry on to the summit for great views of Pauatahanui Inlet, or follow the blue markers down through the Swampy Gully paddock and back to the Airstrip.
Transmission Gully-Puketiro Loop	1 to 3 hours / 10 km return	Start at the Airstrip paddock, crosses the paddock, enter the left-hand gate into the forest and climb up onto the skyline. Follow the yellow markers south along the ridgeline and return down the hill to Transmission Gully. For safety all riders must travel in a clockwise direction on the Puketiro Forest Loop.

Horse Riding

With its variety of terrains, good parking and easy access from the road, Battle Hill Farm Forest Park is a great place to ride your horse.

All riding tracks are shared trails with mountain bikes, walkers. A number of pony clubs and other organisations use the park for their horse riding activities.

Things to keep in mind

Follow the horse riding code for all regional parks
Park your horse float in the Dell loop carpark
Horses can be led over the stream to the paddock behind the homestead for grooming
Remove all hay, twine and horse manure from around your float before you leave
Pay attention to water restrictions in the park and don't use hoses to clean your horse if water restrictions are in place
Jumps are there for organised events only - casual use is not permitted
No riding in the front paddocks or the bush reserve

Tracks

When conditions are wet, the park may be closed to horse riding.

Tracks	Details
Wetlands Walk	1 hour/3km return. Easy/medium. Follow the farm road up through the Airstrip between the wetlands and the deer paddocks. Go through the gate into the Swampy Gully Paddock and follow the farm track up the gully. Climb the main track to the left before looping back to the south and through the gate into the Spring Paddock. Follow the farm track down the paddock and back to the Airstrip and car park.
Farm Loop	1 hour/3km return. Easy/medium. Follow the farm road up the Airstrip, then take the track north through the Oak Paddock, into the Battle Hill Paddock and up the hill. Approximately 200 metres short of the Battle Hill summit a track forks to the right down the hill. Follow this track back to the carpark through the Swampy Gully Paddock, past the wetland area and the deer paddocks.
Transmission Gully-Puketiro Loop	2-3 hours/10.2 km return. Medium/hard Travel the loop in a clockwise direction and take warm clothing as the hilltops are exposed to strong winds. From the Dell carpark follow the farm road through the Airstrip and over the Gas Line Ridge to Transmission Gully. Follow the markers across the paddock to the stream and take the left-hand gate into the forest. The track climbs the hill through the pine plantation to the top from which you will have great views of the Pāuatahanui Inlet and the South Island on a clear day. Follow the track markers south along the top before continuing downhill back to Transmission Gully. Return to the carpark over the Gas Line Ridge

Weddings

Battle Hill is very popular for wedding ceremonies and photographs, and its traditional farm setting helps create unforgettable images of your perfect day.

There is no charge to take wedding photographs in the park. However, we do not reserve sites for non-commercial photography purposes.

Please contact the ranger battlehillranger@gw.govt.nz to reserve particular sites in the park for your wedding ceremony, including the garden around the homestead.

The following charges apply:

$200 for the ceremony

You will need to arrange your wedding reception elsewhere.

Volunteering

Historic

How Battle Hill got its name

Battle Hill's name is no accident. It acknowledges the site of a historic battle in 1846 between the Government forces and around 250 of Te Rangihaeata's men near the summit.

The history of this area has it all - kidnapping, arrests, canons and warfare.

The short story

On 6 August 1846, 250 British troops along with armed militia and police, stood in the freezing rain, ready to attack the 150 men from Te Āti Awa, and 100 men from Ngāti Toa on the hill.

The terrain and native bush made things tricky for the British, they were reluctant to advance and afraid of a counterattack. Instead, they bombarded the pa with mortars (canons).

This went on for days until on 13 August it was discovered that Te Rangihaeata had slipped away under cover of darkness and heavy rain, never to return to his turangawaewae, or place of standing.

The longer story - growing tension in Wellington

In the years leading up to 1846, the relationship between the Crown and Māori was breaking down. The New Zealand Company was trying to buy large parts of land for Pakeha settlers, but the Ngāti Toa iwi, lead by Te Rangitaeata, was resisting pressure to sell.

This came after Te Rangihaeata had been involved in killing 22 settlers in a land dispute at Wairau in 1843. Settlers wanted him punished and were looking for signs that he would not continue to disrupt their settlement.

There was a lot of fear from settlers around the conflict and deaths, and that's when Governor Grey launched a two-pronged plan to secure Ngāti Toa land.

Battle in two phases

The first phase was to kidnap/arrest Te Rauparaha, a war leader of Ngāti Toa, from his pa in Plimmerton, and then the way was clear for the second phase where he launched an attack on Te Rangihaeata and his allies.

Starting in the Hutt Valley, a mixed group of around 500 British troops, police, militia and Te Atiawa allies, joined forces to converge on Te Rangihaeata's at Pauatahanui. They found it deserted and chased him through dense native bush up the Horokiwi Valley to what is now Battle Hill Farm Forest Park.

They were joined by a few hundred Ngāti Toa warriors under the leadership of Rawiri Puaha, but these men turned out to be loyal supporters of Te Rangihaeata, and had been supplying him with ammunition and assistance in his eventual escape.

The loss of a chief

Te Rangihaeata built himself a temporary pa on a hard-to-reach ridge near the summit of Battle Hill. When the Government forces attacked, Te Rangihaeata's men returned fire, killing three Government troops and stopping the attack for a while.

The Government troops sent to Porirua for mortars (canons) and settled into a siege where they bombarded the pa for several days.

By 13 August, Te Rangihaeata had lost nine people and with some of his Ngāti Toa iwi, he fled north to the Horowhenua, never to return to his home.

The Ngāti Toa had lost Te Rangihaeata and Rauparaha and was demoralised and left without leadership. They finally gave in to the Crown's demands for the sale of their land, selling over 608,000 acres in the Wairau and 25,000 acres in Porirua, including what is now Battle Hill Farm Forest Park. In return, Rauparaha was released and they were paid a few thousand pounds.

Battle Hill farm & the Abbott family

In 1860, the bush-covered land was sold to the 62-year-old Henry Abbott. He set about clearing the land of bush and stocking it with cattle.

Henry died in 1882 and the farm passed down to his sons Roderick and Nicholas. It remained in the family until 1975.

Greater Wellington purchased the park in 1987.

Henry Abbott, his son Henry and his daughters Maria and Delia, are buried at Battle Hill in a small graveyard, alongside two of the three militiamen killed in the battle in 1846.

Flying drones/ UAVs

There are lots of good places to fly drones or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) in GWRC managed parks and reserves and there are some places where they should not be flown. No matter where you want to fly, you need to be aware of New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rules and fly your drone safely.

Where can I fly my drone in parks?

Suggested areas suitable for flying UAVs include:

The ‘air strip’ area at Battle Hill Farm Forest Park (except during lambing/ calving season)

Avoid:

Recreation trails when busy. Unless you can obtain ‘prior permission of all the park users you wish to fly above’ (as per CAA rule).
Any areas where organised events or gatherings are taking place, unless permission has been obtained for example, as part of an event permit.
Anywhere in parks where paragliders take off or fly over. This includes Mt Climie In Pakuratahi park, Whitireia Park cliffs, Baring Head/ Orura-pouanui southern cliffs. If there is paraglider in airspace nearby, please stop flying your drone.

Six key rules all drone users should know:

Always fly below 120 metres
Don’t fly over people without permission
Keep your drone in sight at all times
Stay 4 km away from aerodromes and helipads
Give way to all manned aircraft. Land immediately
Don’t fly over property without permission

Drones must not be flown in the following places:

All designated picnic areas. This includes picnic areas in Kaitoke Regional Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, Tunnel Gully Recreation Area, the lower dam area at Wainuiomata Recreation Area, Cannon Point in Akatarawa Forest, Baring Head lighthouse precinct in East Harbour Regional Park, and Onehunga Bay car park and picnic area in Whitireia Park.
All designated camping areas. This includes Kaitoke Regional Park and Battle Hill Farm Forest Park.
Areas of Battle Hill Farm Forest Park and Belmont Regional Park seasonally closed for lambing and calving
All wetland and nesting or roosting bird habitat areas in parks
Closer than 30 metres to any vehicles, boats or park buildings or structures (note that Wellington Harbour is all controlled airspace, if you do have permission to fly over the harbour, please stay at least 200 metres away from large commercial shipping).
In other locations when asked to cease flying by a Park Ranger or member of the public

Refer to the GWRC Guideline for Flying Drones (UAVs) in the regional parks and forests (PDF 155 KB) for more details.

A permit is not required for recreational flying, but is required if you intend to fly for commercial purposes.

Details of the CAA rules are found on their website www.caa.govt.nz/rpas.

Description

Pitch your tent and toast marshmallows over an open campfire. Visit the historic battle site, farm animals and feed the native eels - they love sardines but just watch your fingers! There are trails suited for hooves, feet, bikes and baby buggies, with views of Pāuatahanui inlet and the new Transmission Gully motorway.

Know before you go

Dogs are not allowed anywhere in the park, including in cars, as there is a working farm in the park.
There is no cellphone coverage.
Pollen levels are often high. Carry appropriate medication if you have a pollen allergy.
Fireworks are banned in all Regional Parks and Forests.
Do not disturb the farm animals grazing in this park as these animals are protected.
Parts of the park will be closed during lambing season between 1 August and 22 October.
Please use gates and stiles. Leave gates as you find them.

Download the park brochure

Battle Hill brochure

Getting there

Main entrance: 610 Paekākāriki Hill Road

Turn off SH 58 at Pauatahanui onto the Paekakariki Hill Road and drive 6km to Battle Hill Farm Forest Park. Alternatively, turn off SH1 at Plimmerton onto Grays Rd, then turn left at the end onto Paekakariki Hill Rd.

The Kapiti end of Paekakariki Hill Road beyond Battle Hill is not suitable for heavy vehicles.

Updated May 24, 2022 at 1:36 PM

Get in touch

Phone:: 0800496734
Email:: battlehill.ranger@gw.govt.nz

Battle Hill Farm Forest Park

Haere mai, welcome to Battle Hill Farm Forest Park

Opening hours

add Battle Hill Farm Forest Park notices

Activities

Opening hours

Activities

add Meet the farm

add Tramping

add Camping

add Mountain Biking

add Horse Riding

add Weddings

add Volunteering

add Historic

add Flying drones/ UAVs

Description

Know before you go

Download the park brochure

Battle Hill brochure

Getting there

Get in touch

Battle Hill Farm Forest Park notices

Meet the farm

Tramping

Camping

Mountain Biking

Horse Riding

Weddings

Volunteering

Historic

Flying drones/ UAVs