Friday, March 30, 2007

Mt Eden/Maungawhau - 31st Mar. 2007

In the past I've referred to Mt Eden/Maungawhau as my nemesis, in the walking dept, because I thought it would be pretty tough given how it has hulked in the background of views from many other peaks.

Actually it was pretty easy. We were looking for something close and not too long, because the weather looked dodgy, and Mt Eden fitted nicely.

We started out by parking at Takahi Reserve - the entrance is off Mt Eden Rd just after the driveway to the summit if you are heading towards the city. From the car we headed into the Reserve itself, admiring the stage and semi-natural amphitheatre, past the dog exercise area, until we realised we were heading the wrong way. Luckily we noticed a path up against the fenceline that was heading upwards, so we took that and emerged from the stairwell in an area remarkable for it's lumpy volcanic rubbish.

From there we crossed the road to the top and continued up the footpath, which later becomes an unformed track. Yes there's a lot of up, but it's quite gentle really. We walked around the crater and back down the other side of Maungawhau, then back down to the car. Pretty simple, but some nice views. Like so many other Auckland volcanoes, this one also has a water reservoir, although it's kind of camouflaged.

Here are some pics:

Ok here are not some pics. For some reason I can't get them to upload. I'll try again tomorrow if I get a chance.

Walk took us about 45 minutes, lots of interesting views, a little bit of farm life, and a great bronze map thingy at the top with direction and distance to all sorts of places in Auckland, NZ and the world.

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