KEY POINTS:
There can't be many cities in the world where you can set off from a coast on one side and four hours later be standing looking out across the sea on the other.
Auckland's 16km Coast to Coast walk threads its way from Waitemata harbour on Auckland's east coast to Manukau harbour on the west, taking in some of the city's most scenic spots along the way.
It's a great way to spend a morning or an afternoon, providing you have someone who can read the map supplied by the tourist information centre.
The walk can be done in either direction, but my group decides to start in downtown Auckland at Viaduct Harbour, where luxury apartments and restaurants face out towards flotillas of expensive yachts and powerboats.
From here, the route winds its way through town and up Princes St, once one of the city's most important thoroughfares and still home to Old Government House and some impressive colonial buildings.
The beautifully preserved Albert Park is next and here things start to go a little awry.
After a few minutes of head-scratching and map-turning, I realise I've somehow managed to "miss" the Auckland Domain - an area of parkland covering about 80ha.
But I remember my disastrous attempt to get my Scout orienteering badge and smile apologetically at the rest of the party.
We then perform a manoeuvre that will become an embarrassingly regular feature during the rest of the day: the "backtrack".
Eventually, we find the park's entrance and discover the Domain houses not only the Auckland War Memorial Museum, but also formal gardens and the Wintergardens - two classical glasshouses crammed with rare and exotic tropical plants.
This could be a day's excursion in itself, but I am curtly reminded we are behind schedule so we press on towards Mt Eden.
You can expect some serious thigh-burn during the 196m ascent to the Mt Eden summit, but the pain soon fades once you take in the stunning 360-degree views from the top.
The walk then cuts through the genteel, tree-lined suburbs of Mt Eden and Epsom, with their primped and preened wooden villas with delicate fretwork and cosy, inviting porches.
After another small (cough) detour, we manage to locate Puriri Drive - an impressive sweeping avenue flanked with puriri trees leading to Cornwall Park, a small farm donated to the city by the beneficent Sir John Logan Campbell in 1901. His statue and fountain guard the entrance on Manukau Rd.
Since 1920, the park has been home to Acacia Cottage, the city's oldest wooden building and Campbell's first home in Auckland.
You can discover more about Campbell's life, and the area's Maori heritage at the education centre across the road.
Even if you never attempt the walk, it's worth visiting Cornwall Park just to sample high tea at the Cornwall Park restaurant, where $16.50 buys a three-tiered tray of sandwiches, pastries and cakes with tea or coffee.
The restaurant sometimes closes early for functions so call ahead to check, ph (09) 630 2888.
With sustenance on board, next is the climb up One Tree Hill, to Campbell's grave, the obelisk he erected in tribute to Maori.
The path then meanders out of the park past grazing sheep and the Stardome Observatory - with various working telescopes and a 360-degree panoramic theatre.
From here it's downhill to the end point at Onehunga on Manukau harbour. Highlights on this last section include the original Auckland Zoo site and Jellicoe Park, a small, quaint reserve of replica cottages from the mid-1800s.
We pick up the pace during the final descent and arrive at Onehunga just over four hours after setting off, feeling weary but smug.
Despite the odd detour, it's been a refreshingly healthy way to see many of Auckland's highlights. My only small criticism is the route trail markers are sometimes hard to decipher - an excuse I use with relentless regularity during the inevitable "detour" post-mortems.
Thankfully, there's someone waiting to collect us and for some unexplained reason, I am relieved of map-reading duty for the drive home.
The Coast to Coast Walkway map is free from tourist information centres.
- Detours, HoS
