UMC'98 - Recommended Tracks in the Auckland Area

Rangitoto Island *****

This is an excellent daytrip, especially if you are based in Auckland and you do not have a car. Catch the ferry to Rangitoto Island at the Ferry Building - the yellow-brown sandstone building at the very bottom of Queen St. . To do the full circuit described here, take the ferry at 9.30 am. Do take lunch, drink, a raincoat, and a torch to explore the lava caves.

Rangitoto Island is one of Auckland's most famous landmarks as well as its youngest volcano. The island rose from the sea only about 600 years ago, much to the surprise of the Maori inhabitants of neighbouring Motutapu Island, who had so much trouble with the ash fall that they left for the mainland and declared the island a sacred site (motu=island, tapu=sacred).

As you arrive at Rangitoto Wharf, take a moment to have a look at the rocks surrounding the wharf at the waterline which are covered in oysters. From there, you have two options:

OPTION A: the 5 hour grand tour of the island. Take this if you can walk for 5 hours total and if you are doing the trip on a weekend. You could also take this option on a weekday but you might have to flag the lava caves or Wilson's Park unless you are a fast walker, because the last ferry goes at 3pm rather than 5pm during the week.

From the wharf, turn left and take the coastal walkway. You will come past a few huts (called "baches" in New Zealand), bordering onto the pohutukawa forest that is still in the process of covering the lava. Eventually, you get to a gravel road, where you turn left. The road continues at amost sea level for quite a while, taking you through mangroves and shady areas of forest. Eventually you will reach the western side of the island, where the raod branches. Go straight ahead first and have a look at Mackenzie Bay, a good spot for a break with views to Auckland's North Shore. Backtrack to the intersection and head straight towards the summit. As you come down from the rim of the outer crater (the only spot where the road goes downhill for a moment), watch out for a track disappearing into the bush on the right. If you wish to pursue the Wilson's Park option, you will need to go back here later and take this track. From here its not far to the summit, another ten minutes maybe. Take the board walk and enjoy the views. Have lunch up at the summit, next to the old military observation post.

Return along the western side of the crater to the base of the boardwalk, and backtrack to the Wilson's Park turnoff. Enjoy the variety of species (some exotic) in Wilson's Park. When you get back to the main track between wharf and summit, bachtrack uphill for about ten minutes to get to the lava caves turnoff. See below for a description. Afterwards, return to the wharf via the main track. If there is time left, there are a number of short walks in the wharf area.

OPTION B: the 3 hour short tour. This can be shortened to two hours if you leave the caves and Wilson's Park out.

From the wharf, turn right, past the shelter with the kiosk (which is often closed). Follow the signed walkway to the summit. As you cross the rim of the outer crater, you will see a water tank hut on the right hand side, and some signposting to the lava caves. The caves are another ten minutes away. Several of them can be explored. You'll probably miss the first one, but when you see two big holes at the bottom of a little hill, check out the left one and you'll get to the upper exit. It's pretty large inside so don't get deterred by the narrow entry and exit. Another cave can be explored by walking right through it, so even if you don't want to get on your knees this is a worthwhile sidetour.

Go back to the main track and continue to the summit. See option 1 for a desccription of how to return via Wilson's Park.

For really lazy people, or those with health problems, there's also the option of taking a tractor train (Rangitoto Explorer).

Waitakere Ranges

The Waitakere Ranges feature quite a number of tracks, ranging from short strolls to serious tramps on unformed routes. Here's a bit of a choice for the unsuspecting daytripper:

Arataki Nature Walk ***

This walk starts across the road from the Arataki Visitor Centre on Scenic Drive. A short walk leads to a plant identification trail loop, which takes about five minutes. Follow the arrows for the larger loop and you will see a nice cross section of Waitakere bush with some explanatory notes. This includes a few of the giant kauri trees. The walk is on a gravelled path and suitable for people without boots. Don't forget to have a nosey at the visitor centre, too.

Fairy Falls Track ****

A nice two-hour excursion from Scenic Drive if you like steep climbs and descents. The Fairy Falls are a nice waterfall.

Karekare - Pararaha Valley *****

Depending on how keen you are, this is one of the nicest and most varied walks in the Waitakere Ranges. Start at the Karekare car park, and venture out to the beach. The movie "The Piano" was in parts shot at the beach - if you remember the scene with the piano on the beach, you know what to expect. Walk along the beach to the south, and climb across the conglomerate rocks in the beach around the corner continue on along the beach for a while (watch out for the old tunnel through one of the bluffs) until you see a big black sand dune in front of a valley with a stream that leads back into the hills. Climb this dune and you should see a track going into the valley. Follow this track.

After a few hundered metres into the swamp, there will be a turnoff towards the left, back to Karekare. Unless you're in for a very long walk via the Pararaha shelter and Orange Peel Corner (this adds about 3 hours), turn left here. Further up the hill you get into dense bush. Depending on your condition, there's the option of an upper and a lower route back to Karekare.

Of course the track may be done in the other direction, too. For this, cross the bridge near the Karekare car park, turn right and follow the track behind the dunes. Turn left at the campsite and follow the signs.

This walk will take you between 3 and 4 hours, depending on the route chosen.

There's also Karekare Falls, just a short stroll away from the car park, up the hill.

Cascade / Kauri Park / **

Follow the turnoff to Cascade/Kauri Park from the Bethells Beach (Te Henga) Road, past the golf club right to the end of the road. There's a 30 minute nature trail there which concentrates on kauri trees, of which there are some beatiful specomens nearby. There's also a hidden waterfall which you can hear but not see. Very lush, green bush. Near the car park, there are toilet and picnic facilities, including a gas BBQ site - just bring your own food. Some longer walks also start from here, with loops of up to several hours possible.

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