There's an outing to suit everyone in Waiheke's annual Walking Festival. Sophie Bond tries a new track that's still getting its final touches.
Tony King-Turner suggested sturdy shoes for our walk to the Okahuite Wetland. I soon regret my choice of holey old sneakers.
As we slip off the road and into the bush, the sound of passing cars becomes muted; the rhythm of squelching shoes fills our ears. Birds sing overhead and flit across the wetland, glimpsed through the trees.
This is a new track that Mr King-Turner and a handful of volunteers have been carving out alongside the main road through Ostend. It links with the nearby reserve to form a two-hour loop track.
In a clearing, Mr King-Turner shares his passion for this rare example of native wetland.
"The unique thing about this area is there are four different eco-systems: the mangroves; the saltmarsh reeds, which grow where fresh and salt water mix; the raupo, which only grow in fresh water; and then the salt meadow.
"Five years ago I started wondering what was happening to the island's wetlands and mapping them. Nationally we've got less than 10 per cent of our original wetlands left and they're home to 22 per cent of our birds and 33 per cent of our native fish."
He "sees tracks everywhere" and knew he could make a low-impact path beside the wetland to offer walkers an intimate experience in the middle of an urban area.
Mr King-Turner has built at least a third of Waiheke's walking tracks and says he's been doing it since he was eight. "I grew up on a farm and used to see the sheep making these perfect tracks and wanted to do it too. You're making something everyone can use and I get a real kick out of it."
No trees were harmed in the cutting of the track. There's a thick canopy of bush overhead and an incredible assortment of litter underfoot.
Mr King-Turner sighs. Some Islanders have been slapdash about rubbish disposal and many of the valleys and roadsides are thick with junk.
We pass hundreds of bottles and cans, half a TV set, bicycle parts and a whole discarded water tank. Mr King-Turner will organise volunteers to help with a big clean-up before the track opens officially in October.
Striding on
Here's a small sample of some other walks on offer during the Waiheke Walking Festival:
Bach to the Future Starts at Waiheke's cinema with a 30-minute film from the 1960s and optional cream tea. The walk will take in original fibrolite baches and million-dollar holiday homes.
Top of the Top Knot Rangihoua or Top Knot is a sacred site for Ngati Paoa. Learn all about it and take in the views on this two-hour walk.
Journey to the Lost Centre Graded "tramping track extreme'', this four-hour slog will see you bushwhack deep into undeveloped reserve at the island's eastern end.
The festival runs from October 29 to November 6. For more information and to make bookings, see www.waihekewalkingfestival.org
A path less travelled
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