New Zealand - Wrights Hill

Wrights Hill, Wellington



The centrepiece of Wrights Hill is the Fortress, built for World War II defence. Most of the fort is deep inside the hill, leaving only the gun emplacement visible to the public on most days. (The full fortress opens on key holidays.) I couldn't tell you about A.P. or H.E., but the marks are for precise gun calibration.


New Zealand's standard geodetic survey marker protection looks like the tail of a bomb, very appropriate near a fortress.


Now that I'm on top of the hill, photos start in the west and slowly pivot to the north, taking in the wind farms west of Wellington.


Just like atop Mount Victoria, the Petone district of Lower Hutt and Wellington Harbour come into view, with the Tararua Range and Mt. Hector in the background. Matiu-Somes Island is in the harbour to the right.


Pivoting around to the southeast, I lose sight of Wellington Harbour but gain Fitzroy Bay, a small inlet past the harbour mouth. The last photo is a closeup of Baring Head, on the south end of the bay and the southernmost point on the Wainuiomata Coast reachable by car.


One lone windmill migrated from west to east. Out of its native habitat, this subspecies may not survive without the ability to reproduce, though there should be plentiful food to keep this specimen alive for many years. Perhaps it will rejoin its clan to the west at some point, but more likely it's an outcast, since windmills tend to be social creatures in clowders.

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