Seven Auckland summits in seven hours

By COLIN MOORE

At 196m above the waters of the Waitemata Harbour, the summit of Mt Eden is a good deal lower than the 4897m high bulk of Vinson Massif, highest mountain in Antarctica.

On a sunny autumn day it is also considerably warmer. And with two coachloads of tourists at the summit carpark and dozens of Aucklanders out enjoying a fine day, it is also a lot more crowded.

But as I swig from a water bottle and enjoy the panoramic view of what I consider to be the best-looking city in the world with Joe Scott-Woods, my climbing partner, I cast a thought towards Vinson. It's one reason why I'm sitting on Mt Eden.

Back in 1990 the late Gary Ball and Rob Hall climbed the Antarctic peak with just a few hours to spare in their quest to climb the seven highest summits on the seven continents of the world within seven months.

Ball and I became close friends after several forays on the upper slopes of Mt Cook and his philosophy of adventure is one I endorse. He shunned elitism and competition, it was just "being out there" that mattered.

Ball admired an adventure no matter how modest, what it achieved was relative only to where it began. Everyone had their own Everest.

He would have appreciated our little urban adventure. We had climbed seven summits in under seven hours and Mt Eden, which we shared with other Sunday tripsters, was the last.

We conceived our eccentric urban adventure as an alternative to braving the likelihood of a windswept harbour. Predictably it was a still and hot day as we tackled our first summit, Mt Albert, up a right-of-way where there was once a tram line that carried scoria down from a quarry.

Mt Albert was one of the first of Auckland's 48 volcanoes to emerge.

It erupted more than 30,000 years ago when New Zealand was in the grip of the last ice age and the region consisted of two wide river valleys, the Manukau and Waitemata, separated by a low divide.



The explosion left a crater about 300m across rimmed by a 60m high rubble pile. Within hours molten rock oozed out of the crater and flowed down streambeds toward what is now Pt Chevalier and Western Springs.

Stand on the Mt Albert summit now and you can still follow the line of lava flow. To the east is Mt Albert's neighbour, Mt Roskill, a dumpy 109m high volcano that has been little affected by quarrying.

Today the two peaks are virtually joined by a wide green belt that runs beside Stoddard Rd, and our feet barely need touch pavement.

To the east is the Big King, last of the Three Kings that were born about 15,000 years ago in the most violent explosion of all the Auckland volcanoes. If it occurred today it would shatter every window in central Auckland.

The eruption spewed huge quantities of ash and tuft over a wide area, including the neighbouring cones of Mt St John, One Tree Hill and Mt Hobson. It initially left a crater about 300m deep that filled with lava and solidified, formed three cones and sent lava flowing about 10km to the Waitemata River to become Tetokaroa Reef.

The extent of the quarrying that has left just one 139m cone intact is clear when you climb on to its water tower-topped summit. Not much of the volcano is left but there is a vast empty space around it, suitable perhaps for a future amphitheatre.

One Tree Hill dominates the skyline to the east, even though its single tree is sadly missing from the 183m summit. But at least the volcano, given to the city by Sir John Logan Campbell, has been saved from the ravages inflicted on the Three Kings.

We stop for lunch at a pavement cafe at Greenwoods Corner where the waitress eyes our water bottles and daypacks and asks what country we are from. Perhaps only mad dogs and tourists go mountain climbing in the autumn sun.

Unlike most of the other volcanoes, One Tree Hill erupted several times beginning about 18,000 years ago. An estimated half a cubic kilometre of lava flowed from several vents to leave a lava bed 60m to 80m thick and reaching to the edge of the Auckland Domain and south almost to the Manukau Harbour.

We climb to the summit through a grove of huge olive trees. The summit of Maungakiekie, stronghold of the 18th-century ruler of the area, Kiwi Tamaki, is a commanding spot. Its extensive terracing and numerous storage pits are evidence of the thousands of people who lived there until they were driven out by intertribal warfare in the late 18th century.

Auckland is blessed with this park and many of its citizens are out enjoying it. Some drive to admire the view, others walk, and many others picnic beneath the oak trees of Cornwall Park.

We cross Greenlane Rd, past the back of the showgrounds to Market Rd and the smallest of our summits, Mt St John, its height considered too insignificant to be given on the Auckland topographical map.

Yet surprisingly when you get to the top there is a large crater for the residents in the area to play in and those olive trees again.

Its near neighbour, Mt Hobson, on the other side of the Southern Motorway, is considerably larger.

Stiles along the backyard fenceline suggest that residents don't take the park for granted. There are also some apples hanging over the fence which are welcome fuel for a couple of tiring "mountaineers."

Mt Hobson's western flank has been considerably modified to accommodate a huge water reservoir but the northern flank is touched only by graffiti drawn on the grass for the benefit of motorway users.

To the north-east is a delightful view of the Orakei waterfront which is otherwise exclusive to a couple of large houses.

Six down and one to go. Across Newmarket, past Government House and a direct assault on the east face of Mt Eden.

We top the face where a young couple are picnicking under a tree, and follow the ridge to the summit with time to spare before our seven hours are up.

There is still a long walk across the suburbs of Mt Eden and Balmoral before we reach our starting point in Mt Albert. Tiring legs are soothed by leafy avenues, some hidden byways and sports fields that Joe knows well from his years of jogging in the area.

* For the story of Auckland's volcanoes see Fountains of Fire, by Geoffrey J. Cox (Collins New Zealand, $14.95).