For further information, what it's all about, minimal explanations, more walks, etc., go to the main Walks page.
| Auckland | Long Bay | Coastal walk | Car park to Granny's Bay | 2005 | January | 3 | Long Bay leaflet; Family Walks ( Older; clearer map ) | N38:265810 | Easy. |
| Auckland | Long Bay | Granny's Bay "loop track" | 2005 | January | 3 | Goes into "rectangular" farm section behind Granny's Bay. Small notice by stile through fence by boundary fence; NOT clearly marked. A mown path almost to the back fence, then round and back by the northern stream ( "Family Walks" map ) to Granny's Bay beach. Pleasant. | |||
| Auckland | Long Bay | Beach | Back to Long Bay | 2005 | January | 3 | Beachy. | ||
| North | Shakespear Regional Park | Heritage trail | Army Bay carpark to Lookout track. | 2005 | January | 22 | Shakespear Regional Park leaflet 2005 | N38:326907 | Past the duck pond. |
| North | Shakespear Regional Park | Lookout track | Heritage trail via lookout to Te Haruhi Bay ( almost ); cut across to woodshed from lower gate. | 2005 | January | 22 | Shakespear Regional Park leaflet 2005 | Comfortable. | |
| North | Shakespear Regional Park | Unnamed track ( "Lookout Track" on older map. ) | Woolshed to road. | 2005 | January | 22 | Shakespear Regional Park leaflet 2005 | Better than the road. | |
| North | Shakespear Regional Park | Road | Unnamed track to Heritage Trail. | 2005 | January | 22 | Shakespear Regional Park leaflet 2005 | Road. ( That's the second crossing of the Heritage Trail, nearer the road end. ) | |
| North | Shakespear Regional Park | Heritage Trail | Road to Duck Pond | 2005 | January | 22 | Shakespear Regional Park leaflet 2005 | ||
| Waitakere | Henderson Valley | Ferndown Track | Opanuku Road to Taumata Track | 2005 | March | 5 | Waitakere map 2002 #127; Hema Waitakere Ranges map; Waitakere Walks ( new ) | HWR:511748 | Broad track, gentle grade.
No sign of the "two new tracks" foreseen in Waitakere Walks ( new ). The "chains" map shows the Ferndown track as a loop, including most of the present track ( Grassmere Road almost to Parekura stream ) and a return to Grassmere Road between the present track and the stream; it's described as "mostly old bulldozed sledge track", so perhaps it's still there The connection to the Taumata Track is mentioned in passing. |
| Taumata Track | Parekura peak and back again | 2005 | March | 5 | Waitakere map 2002 #46; Hema Waitakere Ranges map; Waitakere Walks ( new ) | Steep in places ( some steps, not all in good condition ); fairly dry when we went, but obviously gets very muddy.
A spectacular view when you get there - very unusual for the Waitakeres. | |||
| Waitakere | Henderson Valley | Ferndown Track | Taumata Track to Grassmere Road ( almost ), then back to Opanuku Road | 2005 | March | 5 | Waitakere map 2002 #127; Hema Waitakere Ranges map; Waitakere Walks ( new ) | Broad track, gentle grades. Very pretty in places; the Parekura Stream looks much better in bright sunlight than under cloud.
The bridge mentioned in Waitakere Walks ( new ) is now an easy ford ( - in dryish weather, anyway ). | |
| Waitakere | Huia | Huia Dam Road | Huia Road to Smith's Road ( and back ) | 2005 | April | 16 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #63; Hema Waitakere Ranges map | HWR:498660 | Easy; essentially a road. |
| Smith's Road ( called "Smith's Creek pipe track" on Waitakere map "chains" ) | to the end ( and back ) | 2005 | April | 16 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #53; Hema Waitakere Ranges map | A pretty road, uphill but easy walking.
In the higher part, there's a very deep and steep valley to the south side; at the end, there's a small waterfall, and some curious, and leaky, hydraulic engineering where the large water supply pipe comes out of the hill - the note on the map says it's a "pipe tunnel" ( - to Nihotupu Road, according to the Hema map and "chains" ). | |||
| Auckland | North Shore | Kauri Point Domain | Road end to beach | 2005 | April | 25 | Northcote and Birkenhead harbourside booklet | N42:220649 | Very scenic ( in sunlight ). |
| On beach, south to the next bay, and back | 2005 | April | 25 | Exploration | A bit muddy in places; a pleasant walk, pretty views. Only low tide ? - don't remember it from previous visits. | ||||
| On beach, north into Soldiers Bay, round two corners, scramble back to road on "track" | 2005 | April | 25 | Exploration | Good; quite different views. Might be able to get further along. | ||||
| Waitakere | Parau | Parau track | Huia Road to Nihotopu Ridge Track ( and back ) | 2005 | May | 7 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #59; Hema Waitakere Ranges map | HWR:541696 | Steady climb, steep in places. Occasional hints of a view near the road end. Well marked; not very well maintained ( almost all steps unusable ). Much ginger, gorse, privet, blackberry, pampas grass near the road, but it stops once away from Parau. |
| Nihotopu Ridge Track for a while | We went as far as the northernmost point ( about - we were travelling approximately west when we turned back ). | 2005 | May | 7 | Waitakere map ( 2002 ) #55; Hema Waitakere Ranges map | Undulating, but rarely steep. Sometimes a bit difficult to follow, particularly in areas with lots of nikau. Pleasant bush. Hints of views. | |||
... and much, much more. But I managed to overwrite the file while making the first 2006 file, and what with one thing and another, it's gone. No doubt the world will get by somehow. But I can remember the last one - | |||||||||
| Auckland | North Shore | Chatswood reserve | David Beattie Place to seat and back | 2005 | December | 31 | Harbourside Bush Walk Trail; Kauri Point leaflet | N42:235639 ( ??? ) | In from David Beattie Place ( small carpark ), proceed east, follow the path past the branch to Homewood Place. A little further on there is a poorly marked track to the left at a point where a stretch of water can be seen ahead and the main track goes right. The left track leads to a seat overlooking a very pleasant and peaceful pond.
Neither map seems to give an adequate representation of the real path network. NOTE added later : a new map is a bit better. It seems that the sign marking the "branch to Homewood Place" is at the junction shown in the N&BHB book where a small path branches east to Chelsea. This makes a lot more sense of the geography, but both the old Kauri Point leaflet and the sign on the track are misleading. |
Alan Creak,
2006 January.