For further information, what it's all about, minimal explanations, more walks, etc., go to the main Walks page.
| Auckland | North Shore | Leroy's Bush | Little Shoal Bay to main path | 2003 | January | 1 | Northcote and Birkenhead harbourside booklet, Le Roy's Bush leaflet | N42:258646 | Across a cricket ground. ( An alternative is to go to the bowling club up the road a little to the right. ) |
| Bridge to Wilding Avenue, and back. ( Louisa Wadham walk ) | 2003 | January | 1 | as above | Flat, by ( not very ) wetlands, with a hill up to the road. | ||||
| Bridge to Seaview Avenue, and back. | 2003 | January | 1 | as above | Short. Up through some biggish trees. | ||||
| Bridge to Onewa Road ( Side trips follow ) | 2003 | January | 1 | as above | A good walk. Much variety. Wetlands, stream, waterfall. Surprisingly quiet. | ||||
| Path to Fairfax Avenue, and back. | 2003 | January | 1 | as above | Less well used, more rugged. Some informal side paths. Steep in places. | ||||
| Path to Valley Road, back along alternate route. | 2003 | January | 1 | as above | Up all right; back along narrower path much better. | ||||
| Path to south-west from rather below the big waterfall, and back. | 2003 | January | 1 | Informal, but very good. Climbs steeply diagonally away from the stream, eventually reaches a plateau which seems quite high and comes out behind a building. We investigated no further. | |||||
| Path to Hinemoa Street, and back. | 2003 | January | 1 | Northcote and Birkenhead harbourside booklet, Le Roy's Bush leaflet | Pleasant walk. The "notable tree" on the North Shore City leaflet is a Puriri arch across the path. | ||||
| Path to Glade Place and back. | 2003 | January | 1 | as above | Crosses the wetland; otherwise short, non-exciting. | ||||
| Experiment : sewer line ? Barely marked path going into wetlands just before the first right turn as you leave the bridge going west. | 2003 | January | 1 | Goes to a manhole cover, then there's a very overgrown sort of causeway out into the wetlands. A sort of track is visible. I didn't go right across, but the path went on further. | |||||
| Waitakere | Huia | Karamatura loop walk | Car park to Karamatura track, long way | 2003 | January | 18 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #17; Hema Waitakere Ranges map; Waitakere Walks ( new ) | HWR:492653 | Easy, up and down. Views of Huia Bay and Karamatura valley. |
| Karamatura track | Karamatura loop walk to Donald McLean track | 2003 | January | 18 | as above; #71 | Hard work; a very steep bit in the middle climbing out
of the valley. A side track to the waterfall looks interesting, but I didn't explore it much. | |||
| Donald McLean track | Karamatura track to Fletcher track | 2003 | January | 18 | as above; #72 | Quite easy, mostly roughly metalled. Not very hilly. | |||
| Fletcher track | Donald McLean track to Karamatura loop walk ( and back to car park ) | 2003 | January | 18 | as above; #74 | More hard work; mostly
steep, one way or the other. Lots of up and down. VERY steep down at the
end, and apparently clay; beware if wet. Some good - though fleeting - views of Manukau Heads; a short side track to a lookout just before the final descent gives a good view of Huia Bay. | |||
| Waitakere | Kauri Park | Auckland City Walk | Car park to Cascade Track, clockwise ( from above ) | 2003 | January | 28 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #16; Hema Waitakere Ranges map | HWR:457784 | Up and down. |
| Cascade track | Auckland City Walk to Fenceline track | 2003 | January | 28 | as above | Up. Steep in places; many flights of steps. | |||
| Fenceline track | Cascade track to Robinson Ridge track | 2003 | January | 28 | as above | Good walking. Some steep bits, mainly towards the end.
There's a view somewhere in the middle. Bits of the fence, including barbed wire, are still there on the left. Beware ! | |||
| Robinson Ridge track | 2003 | January | 28 | as above | Steadily
down to the stream, very rooty but quite easy when dry. Some pretty ground
vegetation - moss, lichen, fern etc. - in places. Muddier and somewhat less easy after the stream. | ||||
| Cascade track | Robinson Ridge track | 2003 | January | 28 | as above; #20 | Down and up; muddy, particularly near the stream. | |||
| Upper Kauri track | Cascade track to Auckland City Walk | 2003 | January | 28 | as above; #14 | Good track; steeply downhill. | |||
| Auckland City Walk | to car park | 2003 | January | 28 | as above; #16 | Easy, by the river. Then there's the nasty climb up to the car park .... | |||
| Waitakere | Henderson | Swanson pipeline track | Tram Valley Road to junction where path branches from track ( about 491778 ), and back. | 2003 | April | 12 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #24; Hema Waitakere Ranges map | HWR:495792 | A bit slippery, rather steep in parts; otherwise no
trouble. Short walk. Estimated time on Waitakere map grossly overestimated. They say 1 hour 15 minutes one way; we did both ways plus detours in 1 hour 30 minutes. |
| Along track to waterworks; round pond, up steps, turn left along road to Christian Road entrance. | 2003 | April | 12 | Exploration | Easy. The middle bit is informal; top of steps is bottom end of East Tunnel Mouth track. Lavatory. | ||||
| Swanson pipeline track | Christian Road to 491778 | 2003 | April | 12 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #24; Hema Waitakere Ranges map | Path. Easy. | |||
| Side track to right after crossing stream, unmarked but opposite a track signpost : up and down. | 2003 | April | 12 | Hema Waitakere Ranges map | HWR:492781 | Apparently once a vehicle track, obviously well used,
easy gradient. Goes up to cleared land near Christian Road. Nothing spectacular, but pleasant bush. | |||
| Waitakere | Huia | Huia Dam Road | Huia Road to Christie's Track, and back | 2003 | May | 3 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #63; Hema Waitakere Ranges map | HWR:498660 | Easy; essentially a road. Short walk. Some steepish climbs. |
| Big Kauri track, and back | 2003 | May | 3 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #25 | NOT SIGNPOSTED from Huia Dam
Road. ( - but now it might be; I told the ARC and they replied that they'd do something about it. ) Reasonably well marked track; steep and muddy. It's a big tree, but thickly surrounded by bush on a steepish slope. | ||||
| Waitakere | Henderson | Opanuku pipeline track | Christian Road carpark to Mountain Road, and back. | 2003 | May | 10 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #26; Hema Waitakere Ranges map; Waitakere Walks ( new ) | HWR:492777 | A bit slippery, rather steep in
parts;
otherwise no trouble. It was raining. Pretty scenery. Trees, of course. Very short walk. Time on Waitakere map overestimated. They say 40 minutes one way; we did both ways plus exploration in less than an hour. Parking possible at Mountain Road end. |
| Short walk from Opanuku campsite | 2003 | May | 10 | Exploration | HWR:497771 | Going about 50m east of the campsite along the road, there's a track to the left. That leads to a couple of small clearings by the stream, and then onwards by the stream quite some distance to a pleasant glade. Pretty. | |||
| North | Whangaparaoa | Fairhaven walk | 2003 | May | 17 | Rodney Walkways | N38:245860 | From the end of Wade River Road; not obviously
maintained, but passable as far as a concrete landing stage ( ? ). Return
by mud is possible; there's quite a lot of muddy rock, but we went only
about half of the way and returned to the path for the
rest. Sub-exciting. Mostly scramble; view of boats on the river. ( Very short walk ) | |
| Waitakere | Henderson | Filter track | Christian Road carpark to Scenic Drive, and back. | 2003 | June | 14 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #33; Hema Waitakere Ranges map | HWR:492777 | Sealed track through filter
station; path laves track to left just after the seal ends. Various grades of steep up a ridge; steps to begin with. Flattish at the top, muddier. Unusually good views from the ridge part. Short walk. No parking possible at Scenic Drive end. |
| North | Mahurangi West Regional Park | Cudlip Point loop track | Car park ( Otarawao Bay ) to Cudlip Point | 2003 | June | 21 | ARC Northern Parks | N34:237015 | Easy. A
bit muddy, but not too bad. The end of the spur to the point is fenced off. One understands why, but it spoils the point. A quite short walk. |
| Cudlip Point to Park Track | 2003 | June | 21 | as above | Muddier. | ||||
| Park Track to central car park | 2003 | June | 21 | as above | |||||
| Central car park to Bay car park | 2003 | June | 21 | as above | Through the field. Not muddy; large convoluted pohutukawa tree. | ||||
| Auckland | North Shore | Onepoto Domain | Carpark to Sylvan Avenue exit | 2003 | November | 1 | Memory : a failure. We'd intended to go to the Exmouth Road exit. | ||
| Road | Sylvan Avenue to Bailey Reserve on Exmouth Road ( entry to Tuff Crater ) | 2003 | November | 1 | Necessity | Road. | |||
| Tuff Crater Reserve | Round, clockwise ( from above ), about half way, to a steep muddy track to the left. | 2003 | November | 1 | Pathfinder Auckland Street directory, 1994. ( Not very useful, but does show some path. ) | A bit muddy. Some evidence that the council is putting in boardwalks. | |||
| Tuff Crater Reserve | Up the muddy track to View Road. | 2003 | November | 1 | as above | Gives a better view of the crater. | |||
| Tuff Crater Reserve | Along the top of the hill towards the motorway, coming slowly down to the water level. | 2003 | November | 1 | Exploration | No marked path, but
through a somewhat landscaped parkish area. Good view of the crater from
above.
Passes the end of another path, presumably from Akoranga Drive. | |||
| Tuff Crater Reserve | Back along the real path to Bailey Reserve. | 2003 | November | 1 | Interestingly different view. | ||||
| Road | Across Exmouth Road back into Onepoto Domain. | 2003 | November | 1 | |||||
| Onepoto Domain | Back to the car park. | 2003 | November | 1 |
Alan Creak,
2004 March.