Join us on 27 January for a day trip this summer under the expert guidance of geologist, paleontologist and Emeritus Scientist Hamish Campbell. We’ll take a coach ride to Featherston with commentary from Hamish on the Wellington Harbour, Wellington Fault, and Crustal and Active processes. We’ll stop in Featherston for refreshments and then we’ll explore aspects of the Wairarapa Fault between Featherston and Mukamuka (at the west end of Ocean Beach on Palliser Bay, Wairarapa coast).
The Wairarapa Fault last moved on 23 January 1855. It moved 13 metres sideways and 6.5 metres vertically. This is considered to be the largest on-land fault displacement recorded globally in historic time. The associated earthquake was greater than magnitude 8.2. We’ll learn about this and more, see some sights and enjoy a fun day out and about under Hamish’s expert guidance!
- Our exciting day starts at Te Papa where we will depart by coach at 9:00 am to Featherston (65 km).
- Once in Featherston we’ll make a comfort stop for refreshments, coffee and snacks!
- We’ll then travel on to Ocean Beach, Palliser Bay (45 km).
- We’ll then walk approximately 2.5 km from the west end of Ocean Beach to Mukamuka.
- Please note: you must be of reasonable able-bodied fitness to participate in this day trip. There are fords that the coach will not be able to cross.
- In the Mukamuka Valley we will find a nice spot to eat our cut lunches.
- We’ll then walk the return journey to our coach
- Before travelling back to Featherston for another comfort stop and refreshments
- We’ll then take a leisurely drive back to Wellington city, guided on the coach as always by Hamish, and arriving back at Te Papa by 5:00 pm.
We will be walking approximately 5 kilometres in total. The coach travel time is approximately 2 hours each way.
What to bring:
- A cut lunch.
- Suitable clothing – be prepared for all weather conditions.
- Sturdy waterproof walking shoes/boots – we will be walking across gravels and anticipate having to cross streams.
- Water bottle
- Sun protection
Please note: You must be of reasonable able-bodied fitness to participate in this day trip. We will be walking 5 kilometres and crossing fords on foot.
This group is limited to 35 participants.
Hamish Campbell is a Wellington-based geologist, paleontologist and science communicator, and is an Emeritus Scientist with GNS Science. He was a geologist at Te Papa for 20 years (1998-2019) and will be known to many Friends of Te Papa for his role leading annual excursions to the Chatham Islands, and more recently Kaikoura, Golden Bay and New Caledonia. He is still actively involved in research and is especially interested in the origin of the older rocks of NZ.
Image credit: Palliser Bay, Wairarapa by Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.