Since I walked into Queen Elizabeth park through a back entrance, I did not get to see the maps that were posted at the entrance. Because of this, I wasn't totally sure where I was going when I saw a sign that pointed to the "Inland track," but I took it because I had found my way on my previous walks thus far, so why wouldn't this one be the same?
The walk out of QE Park was really nice and kind of reminded me of a toned-down last mile or so of the Tongariro Crossing in that I was walking along a trickling stream. The sound of it in the background just made the walk much more relaxing, as though I needed more relaxation—that was all I had done all day!
Then the forested area opened up and I was in grassy dunes. The path continued leading to what seemed like nowhere, and at one point, forked. Unfortunately, I picked the wrong fork, because I was totally turned around by this time and only knew where the town was by the hills behind it, and had decided that I might as well take any direction that might get me back to the main highway. Unfortunately, after a bit longer walking, I realized that I was going around some sort of field and up what seemed to be someone's driveway. Although it was a quiet little town and I'm sure the people would be very understanding, I didn't particularly feel like seeing where the path continued on to for fear of being yelled at for being on other people's land, so I turned around. Fortunately, I managed to retrace my steps and take the correct fork into QE Park, partly because I actually read the signpost this time, which was pointing toward the Inland Track in one direction and QE Park in the other.
By this point, my legs were getting slightly weary and I knew I should head back to Wellington before too long, so I did not actually get to see the Inland Track. This was rather sad, since apparently it goes over dunes and through a fair stretch of the park (it really is quite a large park, of which I only saw a very tiny piece of). So really, this review is just to warn people: Paekakariki offers quite a lot in the way of hiking, so make sure that you have your bearings and a map to keep you on the right track before you take off, because you'll hit yourself, like I did, if you miss some of it!