If you’re a ped­es­tri­an, some­times it seems as though you’re the last to be con­sidered. Oth­er modes of trans­port get all the big bucks while we get to stumble along on our own, catch­ing our heels on the cobble­stones and dodging the seem­ingly inter­min­able earth­works.

So it’s nice to see that there’s a ded­ic­ated Cyc­ling and Walk­ing jour­ney plan­ner from the Great­er Wel­ling­ton Region­al Coun­cil. I par­tic­u­larly like how it tells you the elev­a­tion of your route so you can see wheth­er an appar­ent short­cut is going to be like scal­ing Everest or not. There is also a cal­or­ie counter, which I guess helps jus­ti­fy your morn­ing tea when you’ve got to work.

I exper­i­mented with the route from my house to work, and the default sug­ges­tion was def­in­itely the most prac­tic­al for the unathlet­ic, though not the shortest – it knows about the tracks over Mt Vic, but you have to drag the route over the moun­tain your­self.

Def­in­itely worth explor­ing, even if you’re a ded­ic­ated walk­er, if only so you can boast about the dis­tance to your lazy mates.