The Big King - 4th & 5th Nov. 2006

This was a short walk inadvertently split over two days, as the result of a phone call received just as we were about to start the actual up hill part. We had visitors and had to head home, but it did mean on each day we approached the Big King from different ends.

On Saturday we started from the carpark on Duke St in Three Kings. This enabled us to waste a considerable amount of time meandering around the various tracks amongst the pocked lower levels of the King, meaning very little up hill walking before the phone rang. But some nice pictures of the hill itself.

Pity really that the summit has a dirty great water tower on it.

So today we tried again and started from the carpark at the quarry end of the park instead, by the Fickling Centre.

We could see into the quarry yesterday, but it wasn't until we had to walk most of the length of it to get to the King that it was possible to get a better sense of the size of this big scar on the landscape. You can't see it from any of the surrounding roads of course, there are trees masking it, and jolly big fences. But it's unavoidable during the walk up to the summit. The shot below probably covered about a third of the excavated space and the earth mover gives an idea of scale.

The suburb's name is Three Kings - and now there's only the Big King left. On the summit the trees have been left to grow on the quarry side, a very canny move by the council.

But elsewhere up top, there are grand views of a number of other peaks I'm yet to scale, and a few I have. Bit daunted by the size of Mt Eden which I'm thinking I'll put off for a while yet.

This is a walk that could easily be done in under half an hour. However there are umpteen wonderfully peaceful spots to just sit and look out over the city, so I think I might visit when I need a quiet place to just think.