There are plenty of great places to stretch the legs in Auckland. Photo / Getty Images
There are plenty of great places to stretch the legs in Auckland. Photo / Getty Images
Winter hiking needn't mean trudging along muddy tracks. Peter Dragicevich rugs up warmly and investigates three of Auckland's best urban walks.
Coast to Coast Walkway
There can't be too many countries where you can walk their entire width in five hours, but this 16km route allows you to do exactly that. Not only does it connect the Manukau Harbour to the Waitematā – and hence the west coast to the east – it also takes in many of the city's most famous sights along the way. On top of that, it's exceptionally well connected to public transport and offers multiple possibilities for snack stops en route.
Like all of these walks, it can be tackled in either direction, but I'd heartily recommend kicking off in Onehunga and walking back towards the city. There are two advantages to this. Firstly, if you're driving, parking is easier at the Onehunga end and it's easy to catch a train back from Britomart to collect your car. More importantly, the Viaduct trailhead offers myriad options for a smug celebratory beverage once you've finished.
The walk officially starts in Taumanu Reserve, the newish coastal park squeezed on to land reclaimed alongside the Southwestern Motorway. Theoretically, the route is marked with blue disks pointing towards the city backed with yellow disks heading in the opposite direction – but they're not always there when you need them. The walkway also forms part of Te Araroa, the national trail, so look out for those signs, too.
The Coast to Coast starts by crossing the footbridge over the motorway, edging around Onehunga Lagoon and meandering through leafy heritage streets to Jellicoe Park. From here it meanders to the frantic Royal Oak roundabout before following Manukau Rd to One Tree Hill Domain. Then it's up and over Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill before a shady stroll beneath the mature trees of Cornwall Park.
The Coast to Coast walkway takes in a stroll through leafy Cornwall Park. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Soon you'll find yourself traversing the dark heart of Epsom. After skirting Melville Park, the route markings all but disappear and you'll find yourself lost within the maze of the Teachers' College campus. If you're lucky enough to make it out to Epsom Ave, pick up the trail again as it heads up and over Maungawhau/Mt Eden, past Auckland Grammar and into the Domain. Then it's down into motorway-tangled Grafton Gully, up through the university, and along the bottom of town to the Viaduct, where that cold beverage awaits.
Follow the Coast to Coast trail up and over Mangawhau/Mt Eden. Photo / Dean Purcell
Even for a born-and-bred Aucklander, this 7km inner-city walk throws up plenty of surprises. It's reasonably well known that the bottom of the city sits on reclaimed land, with street names such as Fort St (originally Fore St, as in foreshore), Beach Rd and The Strand giving clues as to the original shoreline. Hints of long-lost coves survive in placenames, too – Shelly Beach, St Marys Bay, Freemans Bay, Commercial Bay, Mechanics Bay, St Georges Bay – but the actual locations of these beaches, and the long-lost headlands that once separated them, have been obscured by time and many layers of concrete.
Parking is easy at either end, but public transport connections less so. If you leave your car at Point Erin, the cheapest option for retrieving it is the Outer Link bus, but that necessitates a walk from Judges Bay to Parnell Rd and then from Jervois Rd back down to Point Erin, adding another 20 minutes to your walking time. Ridesharing is easier but at the mercy of city traffic.
The great irony of this "foreshore walk" is that it only touches the current shoreline at its start and end points: Point Erin and Judges Bay. For much of the route, you'll lose sight of the harbour entirely. Some sections are certainly more gritty than pretty, and almost all are traffic-clogged, but it's fascinating nonetheless. You'll want to allow good two-and-a-half hours, especially if you stop to read all the excellent information boards along the way. A final paragraph on each outlines detailed directions to the next stop; it pays to take a photo to keep you on track.
From Point Erin, the route drops down to the inner edge of the Harbour Bridge approaches. Here you can catch echoes of the pretty little pōhutukawa-lined bays that once lapped against the base of the cliffs. It then skirts Victoria Park, built over the waters of Freemans Bay itself. Then it's along Fanshaw St, Albert St, Swanson St and across Queen St to Jean Batten Place. After that, the aforementioned beachy-named streets lead to the waterless sea cliffs at the bottom of Parnell. A set of stairs at the end of Augustus Terrace is perhaps the only part of this route which looks much as it would have done 100 years ago.
The traffic is finally banished on the leafy last leg through Dove Myer Robinson Park. By the time you reach Judges Bay, you're bound to be far better informed about the scratching posts of local taniwha – and the places where sharks were dried, cockles were gathered, and severed heads were displayed – than you were when you started your trek.
Pakuranga Rotary Walkway
Shadowing the Tāmaki River from Penrose Bridge to the Half Moon Bay marina, the majority of this 10.5km walk is flat, well-paved and – except for the final stroll through suburban streets – largely off road. And like the Coast to Coast, there's the added enticement of a water's edge cocktail beckoning at the finish line.
Mostly the route follows the riverbank, diverting periodically along mangrove-lined creeks and inlets. All along the way there are glorious views across the water, with Maungarei/Mt Wellington punctuating the horizon. Pushchairs and wheelchairs will find the main part of the track a breeze, but there are several sets of steps towards the end, after you hit the streets.
Parking is tricky near Penrose Bridge, your best option being the cul-de-sac at the end of Kerswill Place. Better still, leave the car at Half Moon Bay and catch an Uber.
Starting at Kerswill Place skips the first 100m of walkway, which is a bonus as the very start of the track is swampy when it's wet. Like the Foreshore Walk, there are interesting information boards to read along the way, pointing out old cattle yards, a landing jetty used by US troops during World War II, and the site of a tricksy skirmish between rival iwi. Others discuss the local geology and birdlife, which is particularly rich in this wetland environment. A 5km section of the path is designated as the Dick Quax Memorial Run, outlining the times you'll need to hit at each kilometre mark in order to match the Olympian's 1977 world-record-setting run.
At Farm Cove, a short section of track is currently closed due to seawall renewal works, but a brief detour into suburbia quickly leads back to a shelly beach and a very cool snakes-and-ladders themed playground.
The riverside path ends at the Wakaaranga Creek Reserve, popping out on to a cul-de-sac where a resident has helpfully placed a sign pointing towards the marina. To be fair, the council signage is pretty good – although you'll need to keep your wits about you to spot the final footpath starting near 25 Clyside Ave. This last section traverses the cliffs, beneath the houses, where the views open out across the glistening Waitematā, with mighty Rangitoto beyond.
