Days Bay – Pencarrow
Experience a lovely, relaxed walk or ride to Eastbourne and on to Burnham Gate where you will follow the wild coastline along a gravel track to the iconic Pencarrow Lighthouse. Start this route at Days Bay or in Eastbourne.
Distance: 20½ km
🚶 Average walking time: 5 hours
🚲 Average cycling time: 4 hours
Surface: footpaths, some on-road cycling, gravel track
Route Map
This route can be started at Days Bay or at Eastbourne.
Typical starting point is Days Bay (directions)
⛰ Hill up to the Pencarrow Lighthouse
🚌 Ferry or bus to Days Bay, or bus to Eastbourne
☕ Cafes at Days Bay and in Eastbourne
🚻 Toilet and water facilities at Days Bay, Eastbourne, and Burnham Gate
Points of Interest
Days Bay Wharf
Catch the East by West to or from here. A popular diving place (in the summer) and place to fish. There is also the Days Bay park with the Pavilion cafe.
Eastbourne village
Enjoy a cafe, an ice-cream or some shopping here in this lovely village. Check out the Rona Bay Wharf with next to it Bishop Park, which has a wonderful playground and public swimming pool that is open during the summer months.
Wahine Memorial
in memory of the 53 people who lost their lives when during a ferocious tropical cyclone in 1968 the interisland ferry Wahini struck Barrett Reef and sunk. A memorial plague can be found in the park near a propeller salvaged from the Wahine ferry.
Parangarahu Lakes
These two nationally significant freshwater lakes are blocked off from the sea by gravel bars. They host abundant native birdlife, rare plants, and culturally important sites managed closely with the local Iwi. No swimming allowed here!
Lower Pencarrow Light
This smaller lighthouse was built in 1906 because the main upper lighthouse was frequently shrouded in low-lying fog and sea mist, making it invisible to ships trying to safely enter Wellington Harbour.
Pencarrow Pencarrow Lighthouse
New Zealand’s first permanent lighthouse, lit for the first time in 1859. Famous for its first keeper, Mary Jane Bennett, New Zealand’s only female lighthouse keeper. The hilltop offers spectacular views of the Cook Strait and the South Island’s Kaikōura Ranges.
Services – cafes & bike hire
Days Bay Pavillion
611b Marine Drive, Days Bay
Google reviews: 4.4 stars
Price per person: $20-30
Hours: 9am-8pm (Wed-Sun), 8am-4pm (Mon-Tue)
Chocolate Dayz Cafe
614 Marine Drive, Days Bay
Google reviews: 4.3 stars
Price per person: $20-30
Hours: 9am-5pm (Sat-Sun), 7am-4pm (Mon-Fri)
Tartines Cafe
Village corner 1, 2 Rimu St, Eastbourne
Google reviews: 4.4 stars
Price per person: $10-50
Hours: 8am-4pm (Sat-Sun), 7am-4pm (Mon-Fri)
Hive Cafe
16 Rimu St, Eastbourne
Google reviews: 4.3 stars
Price per person: $20-30
Hours: 8am-2pm (Mon-Sat), 9am-2pm (Sun)
Wildfinder Bike Hire – Days Bay
615b Marine Drive, Eastbourne
Google reviews: 4.2 stars
Price per person: $30/hour-$50/3 hours
Hours: Temporarily closed
Wildfinder Bike Hire – Pencarrow
519 Muritai Rd, Eastbourne
Google reviews: 4.7 stars
Price per person: $30/hour-$50/3 hours
Hours: 10am-5pm (every day)
Transport options
| Bus | The #81, #83, #84 all run services to and from Days Bay and Eastbourne |
| Ferry | Catch the East by West ferry from Queens Wharf at the Wellington Waterfront to Days Bay from where you can do the route to Pencarrow Head. |