Oakley Creek Walkway - 28th Apr 2007

Yesterday I decided to do a short walk not too far away, so I set off for Waterview. I parked down Cowley Ave, walked up Great North Rd a bit, and took the walkway across the road.

Then it was down, beneath the level of the road, and along the Oakley Creek Walkway. Billed in a City Council brochure as containing the isthmus' only natural waterfall, it's obviously undergoing significant renewal. This is good because the path and the park are in a parlous state at the moment, although the work already done is making a big difference. It will be a fantastic oasis when it's finished.

Most of the trees are exotic, but the planting programme appears to be largely native, so eventually there will be a good mix. The path kind of follows the creek - at parts it is quite a distance from it, but in general it winds back and forth across it via some pretty bridges.

The autumn trees were great, and there was some pretty cool moss and lichen, and even some actual mushrooms! I don't like to eat them, but I do like to snap them.

There are also some curious old walls throughout the park, possibly put in when Unitec was Carrington, and Carrington was a mental institution?

I wanted to do this walk because I was curious about the waterfall. You have to go down some stairs to get to it, and the flat area at the bottom of the fall looks very beaten up, but the waterfall itself has a surprising impact. The pics don't really capture it I'm afraid.

Above the waterfall there were ducks, and I did see a few other birds, but they were always flying away from me. A lot of people were using the path - walking, cycling, pushing strollers, exercising dogs. It'll be great when the path can sustain that use along its whole length.

Walking to the end and back would take around an hour. The concrete path is broken in parts, and narrow the whole way, but this is a very pretty and serene walk. It does need more signage though - there were a lot of paths off to the side, which I suspect joined up with Unitec of the housing on the road-side of the creek, but it wasn't clear, particularly at the end. I'm still not sure I walked the whole way.

St Heliers to Roberta Reserve and return - 22nd Apr. 2007

Today we did the first and second legs of the Point to Point walk, having completed the third part many moons ago.

We started out on Cliff Rd in St Heliers, and walked up the road, with great views of Rangitoto, the Waitemata Harbour and back to the city.

We took the walkway down to Ladies Bay and walked along the coast to Karaka Bay. This took quite a while, and originally we had intended just to walk back up the Ladies Bay walkway

and continue along the track in the handy leaflet from Auckland City Council. But we just seemed to keep walking. Once we were out of Ladies Bay itself it was very noticeable that there weren't any other women, although there were a fair few naked men. Oh I tell a lie, there was one woman. She was posing for top-less soft porn shots. I guess that's what happens in a nudist area. I didn't mind the nudity, but I didn't much like the stares from all the men.

There was this weird thing in the water, all encrusted with shellfish, and fantastic views of Browns Island. I love the shape of Motukorea, it looks as if it were lovingly sculpted by hand. Nickname Pending pointed out that it is quite reminiscent of Mangere Mountain. Perhaps all denuded volcanoes look a bit similar?

Anyway, Karaka Bay was great - quite a surprise. There was no road access and although the houses were obviously valuable it looked like a hippy-ish kind of place. The Treaty of Waitangi was apparently signed there on 4th March 1840 and there is a little rest place with a plaque commemorating it.

At Karaka Bay we followed a path up to the road and then followed the streets around to Anderson Bay, where we took a track that wound behind the houses and right on the cliff edge, looking across the Tamaki to Musick Point and Bucklands Beach.

Then we were back on the road again, skirting Roberta Reserve (Tahuna Torea starts on the other side of it) where we stopped for a snack, before heading up through Glendowie Park. It's a strange place, the ground is very undulating, so it seems kind of useless for playing much. My theory is it used to be landfill and needs to subside more before it can be flattened off, but I really have no idea.

After Glendowie Park we went up and down a few more roads to get to the southern entrance to Churchill Park, which is quite extensive. We opted for the Lower Track, which followed a stream, rather than the Upper Track through farmland. There were a few Billy Goat Gruff bridges and a fair bit of bush, but the real highlight was peeping through the trees to the beautiful gardens created by those who owned the properties on the other side of the stream. They obviously worked together to create something out of a fairy story around the stream, and this photo doesn't do it justice at all.

We got a little bit lost at the end of Churchill Park but eventually found Glover Park, which is basically the crater of Whakamuhu with playing grounds in the middle. We walked up Waitara Rd and along the edge of the crater, looking back across the park to yet another water tower on the hills above St Heliers.

Then we took some more streets, heading west, until we ended up back on Cliff Rd again.

This walk took us 2 hours 20 minutes, with two snack stops and a lot of photo-induced slow going. The tracks were variable - at some points the road had no footpath, and I don't think you could realistically do this walk on wheels. The leaflet from Auckland City Council was kind of helpful. On the one hand I wouldn't have known about all these places without it, but on the other the scale was changeable and some of the streets you needed to go down weren't named on the map, created confusion. I'd suggest that ACC look at putting markers on the route, as there were none at all that were helpful, just the very rare Point England Walk map sign, which didn't really help at all, as it doesn't appear to be updated since they started calling it the Point to Point track and also lacked any labels on any roads or parks or indeed anything.

It was a very good walk though - a good mix of coast, cliff, interesting streets, park and bush, with a variety of inclines through-out. Great views all round, and some nice surprises too.

Rotary Walkway, Pakuranga - 6th Apr. 2007

Yesterday Nickname Pending and I headed east, to do the now completed Rotary Walkway that goes from Ohui-a-rangi (Pigeon Mountain) to the Rotary Reserve on the Pakuranga Highway opposite Pakuranga Plaza.

We parked on Galloway Crescent, by a little reserve at the back of Wakaaranga School, then walked down the road to one of the many pathways that join the walk. They are marked with these concrete stamps, which are also supposed to mark kilometres along the length of the walk itself, but seem to be placed somewhat irregularly.

We headed towards the Plaza first, although we didn't start right at the beginning of the walk. The pathway is largely concrete and wends its way pleasantly along the coast, with a few explanatory markers along the way. We walked up Wakaaranga Creek, which is covered in mangroves, spotting pukeko and grey herons along the way. A lot of the houses that back onto the creek pathway are rather flash, some with tennis courts and others with jetties that go out from the path. Once the creek meets the Tamaki River, you have a great view of Mt Wellington (my new nemesis now that Mt Eden is conquered) and the sandbar that forms part of the Tahuna Torea nature reserve. We walked past the Pakuranga Sailing Club and the reserve next to it. The tide was a long way out, as you can see from the pics, and it took us over an hour to get to the Pakuranga Plaza end of the walk. We turned around and came back, stopping in a bay to eat our packed lunch, and generally watched the windsurfers on the water and the families on the pathway. There were a lot of bikers, and they are supposed to give way to pedestrians. Most do.

Once we had walked all the way back to our starting point we headed further up the pathway towards Ohui-a-rangi and Pigeon Mountain Reserve. Manukau City Council has a plan to overhaul the reserve and has already done significant work on a wetlands area complete with boardwalk and many pukeko. It is wonderful spot even though it isn't complete yet.

I'd recommend if you do this walk give yourself about 2 and a half hours and start from one end or the other, not part way along like we did. It's pretty much flat and much of it could be done with a stroller too. It would also be a nice bike ride, particularly on a cold day, as the sun reflects off the water and parts of the walk that are sheltered from the wind were very warm, even on an autumn day.

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.

No walking this weekend

Another case of busy-ness getting in the way of walking. Sigh.

Onehunga to Ambury Park, and return - 17th Mar. 2007

Yesterday we were looking for a short walk. The Book reckons Ambury Park is only an hour, and flat, so it seemed like a good option. However Nickname Pending decided to extend it by starting our plodding in Onehunga, on Princes St...

We headed down Princes St and then through the Onehunga Foreshore Park, across the SH20 overbridge, then back along the side of the motorway by the Manukau Cruising Club. Eventually we reached the old Mangere Bridge (crossed previously) and headed to the other side. We followed the signs to Ambury Park through the suburban streets, and finally reached the regional park itself.

From there it was an easy 45 minute walk in a circuit around the foreshore. Lots of sheep, lots of birds (including a pesky flock of pigeons) and a really prodigious amount of faeces. Nice views of the Manukau Heads, and interesting info boards about the natural and historical features of the area. The end of the walk went through the educational farmyard section of the park, including the biggest horse I have ever seen.

Then we walked back to Onehunga via the waterfront mainly, past a sculpture exhibition, along the old bridge, and then up Onehunga Mall to the car (much shorter than the way there!)

All up this took us around 3 hours and 45 minutes. A long time, in fact our longest walk yet. I got sore hips and ankles, from too much relentless walking on concrete.

And here are some pics.

One of the many power pylons along the route:

The view from Kiwi Esplanade back across the harbour to Hillsborough:

A lava cave in the Park:

View from the Park to the Heads, with sheep:

Moss along the Manukau foreshore on the way back to old Mangere Bridge:

(There was no walking last weekend as we had Other Stuff on)

Hunua Falls & Cosseys Reservoir - 3rd Mar. 2007

We headed down south yesterday, to the Hunua Ranges Regional Park. Getting there was easy, despite our lack of a map book, thanks to the Day Walks of Greater Auckland which gave simple instructions from Papakura.

The walk starts in the Hunua Falls carpark. You begin by crossing the river by bridge, giving a great view of the waterfall.

We headed along to the base of the falls first, although this wasn't actually on the walk we were doing, and also ventured to the Lower Falls Lookout. We tried to go to the Upper Falls Lookout but the track was poorly signed and we ended up on the Massey Track instead. Unfortunately we didn't know this and went back down the Massey Track when we needed to go up it.

We sorted it out reasonably quickly, but this was really a bad sign for what was to be quite a bad walk.

The idea was to walk to the Cossey Reservoir and back. And we did this. But the walk there was two hours, mostly uphill and often very steep or stepped, through bush that got rather dull after the first hour, and afforded little in the way of views.

There was a great kauri grove not long before the Massey Track meets the Cossey-Wairoa Track, which you follow to the reservoir, and there was a lookout over the reservoir itself, but generally the bush was too overgrown in the few lookout spots to actually see much. The below shot is one such example of the frustrating attempts to take some interesting snaps:

The reservoir was quite nice, but somehow I managed to produce very dark pics.

Again the lack of good signage was frustrating. We kept walking around the reservoir and in the end took a bit of a punt on which way to go as there were no signs. Luckily we were right.

More interesting than the two hour slog there was the one hour walk back to the carpark along the Cossey Gorge Track. Again I was frustrated that we could hear the stream but not really see it. This is the best view we got. Actually, it was the only view we got.

The Cossey Gorge Track was more gentle, although still satisfyingly rugged, including crossing a stony river bed (which wasn't too much of a hassle after Maungaroa).

Plus I felt much better for coming across two friendly German Shepherds and their walkers.

And then, not a moment too soon and with legs aching from all that up, we were back at the carpark.

I wouldn't have minded this walk so much if I'd had some inkling of just how much up there would be. The book graded it a 2 out of 3 for difficulty, but I would definitely put it at 3, and the pain in my legs today would testify to that too.

The tracks are generally well formed, covered in stone chip, but the signage is a problem. Normally I would have picked up a brochure of the walks from the information point in the carpark, but there were none there on this occasion, so perhaps with one of those life would have been easier.

Despite the detours and frequent stops for poor old me (Nickname Pending found it challenging too, but is not cursed as I am with short hamstring and calf muscles which make uphill torture at times) it took us pretty much bang on 3 hours. I strongly recommend avoiding the heat of the day (we started at 2pm but were still quickly drenched in sweat).