Waitakere Dam & Tramline Walks - 9th Dec. 2006

Yesterday we drove out along the North-Western Motorway, got off at Lincoln Rd, then headed through Swanson and Ranui (old leafleting haunts both) to Scenic Dr and the Waitakeres.

We did the Dam walk first, which leaves from a carpark on Scenic Dr, handily festooned with a Waitakere Dam Carpark sign. Other signs however were misleading. One said it would take 1 and a quarter hours to get to the dam from the carpark. It took us only about half an hour, following the road down the hill. It's quite a boring walk there really, although we took two short bush diversions - one to a large kauri just off the road, the other was a track than ran below the road for a few minutes with some great views towards the Cascades Golf Course, which we had seen when we did the Auckland City Walk a while back.

Here's the typical view walking along the road to the dam.

The dam itself is quite spectacular, much bigger than I'd expected. There is a noticeboard explaining some of the history of the dam, the tramline, and of course the vital pipeline that carries the water from the reservoir to the city.

The dam from the hill wot you walk down to get to it.

Looking up at the dam from beneath.

There are nice toilets (longdrops of course) and there's a little section of bush below the damn, with some beautiful tui - it's strange seeing them from above and noticing the beautiful teal plummage that we miss from our usual vantage point.

Then we walked back up the hill a little to the start of the Tramline Walk. It doesn't follow the tramline the whole way, as it is too dangerous near the dam itself due to a fragile cliff face. But it was a pleasant and interesting walk including:

Looking back along the track, and the pipeline

A narrow but very high waterfall you walk under:

The first, short, tunnel, going in:

The Tramline Society's mini train - stopped at Picnic Flats when we came across it.

And the second tunnel, which is closed off and apparently quite long (with glowworms!).

It marks the end of the Tramline track and from there you can either turn around and go back to the Dam track to get out, or head along the West Tunnel track. We chose the latter.

Which turned out to be a grand decision, because not only was there cool moss,

there was also impressive fungi.

The West Tunnel track was pretty muddy in parts, and at one point, where we had to cross a stream, it was very difficult to work out where the track went next. There's evidence that the ARC is starting to put boardwalks through, but the work is only just begun and at the moment the track is quite a challenge in parts.

Eventually we met the Anderson Track and turned along that towards Scenic Dr. All well and good until we got to a fork in the track...

In the end we just picked one, no science to it. It took longer than 5 minutes to get there, but we did end up out on Scenic Dr. Unfortunately there was no indication of the direction of the carpark from the bush exit, so again we picked a direction and walked along the road, until we established that we had gone the wrong way, then we walked all the way back to our starting point, and then about another twenty minutes further to the car.

All up I think we walked for about two and a half hours. It would have been just over two without the mistake at the end. The walk to the dam is easy going down, but would be a bit of a puff coming back. The tramline walk is great, but the way out from there is soggy and difficult in parts. Once the boardwalking is complete it will be fantastic.

Perimeter Track, Wenderholm Regional Park - 2nd Dec. 2006

Today we headed north, along State Highway One, past Orewa, and then Waiwera, to sunny Wenderholm and it's Regional Park. As with Cascades Kauri Regional Park, the walks here are well organised - with a useful map at the start of the tracks which takes you through the options, including which are suitable for buggies (or not ok for jandals). The tracks are clearly sign-posted throughout, for the most part, and when it might get confusing, with a number of tracks converging, their are colour-coded posts to help. Big ups to the ARC.

We picked the Perimeter Track, recommended in our Day Walks of Auckland book. This involved a lot of up at the start, as we climbed Maungatauhoro, a former pa site. The tracks up included a lot of steps and boardwalks, as well as several well placed lookouts and a chance to see an old midden (which rather reminded me of why I found archaeology so boring at university).

The views from Maungatauhoro were great, and luckily the weather just got better as the day progressed.

The start of the Puhoi river, below:

Looking east from the top:

Once you reach the top you can either walk back the way you came or take the tramping track down, which is largely unformed and would be very difficult in wet weather. We both had decent walking shoes so we headed down the tougher section, and the grips on my Tevas were indispensable.

Eventually we came out at Kokoru Bay, where in a former life I once cleared some bush (for reasons unknown) during one of those pointless weeks at the end of Sixth Form. Nice view across the river to Waiwera itself.

However the noise from State Highway One is pretty full on from about half-way down the hill until the track stops following the road and turns back into the park around half an hour later. At one point there was a whole gaggle of loud motorbikes heading across the Waiwera bridge, and even though we were a considerable distance away the noise reverberated around the bush and disturbed the peace.

The bush is not as regenerated as at Cascades Kauri, and I don't think I've ever seen so many nikaus in one place. Bird-wise we heard tui, saw piwakawaka (fantails), and of course blackbirds and thrush. My moss obsession continued.

Almost the entire walk is through bush cover, until you start walking back to the carparks, along the road into the park itself. Here there are cows and sheep, not to mention a really large number of ducks. Before heading back to the car, after about an hour and a quarter of walking, we decided to have a quick squizz at Couldrey House.

Lovely spot, unfortunately it was $2 each to go in, which is fine except when you don't have any cash on you.

Then we decided to walk back to our vehicle along the beach. In a vain attempt to extend the tan on my feet beyond the patches my sandals expose I took my Tevas off, forgetting how hot the sand can get on a sunny day. The beach and picnic areas were being well used, and we spotted some oystercatchers on the sand, and of course the ubiquitous gulls.

Great set-up, interesting walk with information points along the way, definitely keen to come back and do some of the other tracks in the area, particularly the Puhoi walk which includes the pa area itself.

(Pictures added 7th Dec)

Devonport volcanoes - 25th Nov. 2006

This morning we headed over the bridge to Devonport and had a tasty brunch at The Stone Oven, just off the main road of "Devonport Village" as it is quaintly labelled in the map book. Then we lazily drove up the hill to the carpark, as far down as Mt Victoria as we could park, next to Devonport School.

The plan was to knock off three more volcanoes - Mt Victoria, Mt Cambria and North Head (Maungauika), walking between them and then back from North Head along the Devonport waterfront.

Mt Victoria has always been the poor cousin to North Head in my mind, in all those years I lived on the Shore - I thought it was shorter, it didn't have exciting tunnels, and it was too far from the water to attract my sea-spray soaked adolescent mind. I'd only been up Mt Vic once before, and had no real recollection of what was on the top. I believe I'd gone up by car rather than foot.

There's no clear track up, unless you follow the road to the summit, which we weren't keen to do. Luckily we spotted quite a few other people walking up on the grass so we just followed them and found there is a foot-created path that circles around and around the side, rather treacherous in places. The views going up, and on the top, were great:

Our next destination, North Head, from the top of Mt V:

On top of Mt Victoria is a weather station, and a field of airvents decorated as mushrooms. The weather station reminds me vaguely of the Empire's probe on Hoth.

There's also two quite cool bronze relief maps - one of quite a large area of the North Shore and Hauraki Gulf, the other just of the borough of Devonport. Below is a view of the city with the bronze Mt Vic in the foreground:

We then headed down Mt Victoria, following the road, then headed up Kerr Rd, along St Aubyn's, left down Church, and into the Mt Cambria Reserve. Most of the time we walked between Mt Victoria and North Head we seemed to be on the Walking School Bus route for Devonport School:
Mt Cambria isn't really a mountain, or even a hill. Maybe it was quarried away, there's certainly a lot of stone used in walls around the area. Whatever, it's really just a slight rise, topped by this lookout.
The reserve itself includes the Devonport Museum (which was closed) and the walks within it are well laid out although neglected.

Next we headed onwards towards North Head, crossing Vauxhall Reserve (cricket in progress), right along Cambridge Tce, through Devonport Domain (more cricket), left on Cheltenham Rd, then right up Takarunga Rd, to the entrance to Maungauika. I've come to the conclusion that Devonport is possibly one of the most English of Auckland's suburbs.

North Head has changed since the days I swarmed over it repeatedly as a child. Many of the tunnels I used to pursue have locked gates on them now, and I have a fear of the dark I didn't seem to be afflicted by in my early youth. Now the fences are down, and the summit is no longer the exclusive domain of the Navy. We walked right up to the top where there is a photo gallery and 15 minute video in the Stone Kitchen. The video is fantastic - it talks about the arrival of Maori in the region and the names they gave the hills in the area, then the use of the summits for military purposes from the fears of Russian invasion in the late 1890s through to the end of WWII. The top of Maungauika was a navy training site for many years, before being added to the rest of the park in the mid to late 1990s. The video includes a number of 3D animations of North Head and Fort Takapuna as they had been in previous times. Notably missing however was any record of how the hills went from being pa to settler military occupation.

We wombled around in the tunnels and gun turrets, although the camera crapped out again before long.

Then we headed down the side, and ended up walking the wrong way (because the path was washed out) around the coastal side of Maungauika, watching the yachts heeling in the strong wind. It didn't take long to get back around to the Cheltenham side of the hill, then head along King Edward Parade and back to Victoria Rd in the heart of the village for our ice cream reward.

All up this was an interesting walk - the hills provided plenty of up but the views distracted from any difficulty. Only the track on Mt Victoria was difficult to navigate in parts, and you could just go up the road and stairs instead. A varied walk, covering hills, streets with lovely old and new houses, some flat (or nearly flat) parks, and a coastal part too.

No walking this weekend - weather inclement

Sadly my great plans for Saturday's walk could not come to fruition. I even had good and bad weather plans, but conditions were so dastardly that the bad weather one was still too optimistic.

However on Friday afternoon I did pick up two useful Auckland City walk brochures, pictured below, at the Onehunga Library.

There was quite an impressive range of heritage walks, although I only grabbed the original shoreline one (the black leaflet). The green one covers the Point to Point walkways (we have already done Tahuna Torea), the Coast to Coast, and the Manukau Coastal walkways (including the Blockhouse Bay explorer, Te Ara O Tiriwa, which has also already been completed).

Two things though:

1. Why aren't these resources available, at least for download, on the Auckland City Council website? (Or if they are, why couldn't I find them?)

and

2. Some of these walks are 3 or 4 hours in one direction. It's then necessary to get back to your starting point for your car. But the public transport system isn't up to it, particularly not on a Sunday. Mercifully there is supposed to be a regular bus from Onehunga back to QEII Square for the Coast to Coast. But the Original Shoreline walk looks very interesting, with an excellent guide to the streets and sights in the black pamphlet, yet I'm a bit stumped about how to get back to the start again.

Humph, I'm probably just grumpy because I didn't get to walk yesterday.

Writers' Walks

Googling around (aka procrastinating) found this link to NZ's Writers' Walks and other literary "destinations". The Auckland ones seem to all be on the North Shore.

Could be a useful resource if we run out of volcanoes or walks in the Day Walks of Greater Auckland book, although I don't see that happening anytime soon...

Auckland City Walk, Cascades Kauri Regional Park - 11th Nov 2006

Today we headed out West along Scenic Drive in Titirangi, then down Te Henga Rd, to turn into Falls Rd, past the golf course, to the carpark at the edge of Cascades Kauri Regional Park.

Nickname Pending chose the Auckland City Walk, named to recognise Auckland City's contribution to the Regional Park, because it was in our Day Walks of Greater Auckland book, and there was supposed to be a waterfall.

The carpark has a nice little area with information about the park, it's geological history and wildlife, and some really top notch long drop toilets in a cute little cottage.

Then it was into the bush. Near the start of the walk we crossed a small river by wire suspension bridge.

Then we generally wandered our way along the track, taking a few more pics along the way.

Mostly of moss. I seemed to have rather the moss obsession today. But I'll only put up my favourite.
After a while there's a short track you can take to the falls themselves. Now we'd been pre-warned by the book that there wasn't much to see. It was a nice walk, with some really quite spectacular rock formations and overhangs (which didn't photograph well). But yes there was some disappointment at the end. Here's the view of the falls from the end of the track.

If you squint you can just make out a little white bit in the middle of the shot. That's water rushing past.

However we went off track at this point and clambered over some big boulders, and managed to get this shot of the pool that the falls empty into.

Then it was back to the main track.

The bush here is older than the other tracks we have done to date. It's been regenerating here since at least 1925 when the park was opened, and it shows in the dense undergrowth that gives you a real sense that you are walking in rainforest. There are also, unlike other parks with kauri in their name, plenty of the Giants of the Forest, lording it over all of us and defying the small scope of a camera's frame. The track is surrounded by a multitude of flora species, and clearly there is a lot of bird life too, although we didn't see much beyond the odd tui when we visited. It's hard to hear the birds over the chatter of the streams that run along next to most of the track. The telltale ribbons and plastic markers of a comprehensive trapping programme show that the birds here are fighting a war with invaders, including stoats if the egg trap we found is any indication.

At the end we exited the bush just a bit up Falls Rd from the carpark where we had started, and walked back down the hill past one of the big frames that was so controversial all those years ago. Can't quite remember why now.

This walk would only take you about an hour if you didn't stop to take photos, and spend quite some time up the little track to the falls themselves. The walking is easy, not much up and down, although the track is quite rugged in places. I can't really explain the lushness of the bush without falling into cliches (and it doesn't photograph well), but hopefully many of the other tracks we have done in recent months will one day be as recovered from the scars of our country's settlement.

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.