"Great walk to take in views of Wellington harbour and central city, from either Oriental Bay or Mt Victoria. Covers the tranquillity of the Town Belt forest and meanders from the city to exposed coastline on Wellington's South Coast." That's what the Wellington City Council's website has to say about the Southern Walkway which starts (or finishes) in Oriental Parade, goes uphill to the lookout on Mt Victoria, heads along the green belt and behind the zoo before eventually hitting the south coast at Houghton Bay. For more specifics, see the map below.

Much of the walk is amongst trees or along tracks away from suburbia, but with regular views of the city sprawl. Another website has this to say: "Beginning at Oriental Bay this easy to moderate 11 kilometre walk incorporates a variety of attractions - city and harbour views, serenity in the tranquil bush, and a windswept and wild coastline. Comprising mainly exotic species of trees (pine and macrocarpa), secondary native vegetation is also thriving. While steep in places, the walk provides numerous seats, picnic spots and convenient stopping points."

It's a very pleasant walk. It took me just under three hours at a moderate pace, and that included around 30 minutes at the Mt Victoria lookout, plus numerous other photo stops. I'd definitely recommend it or, for the less energetic, starting partway along on Crawford Road (near Alexandra Road) and walking north to Oriental Bay.