Walked the 5km Hobsonville Coastal Walkway, which loops around a former Air Force base. Over the last 20 years, the area has been transformed into mostly high-density housing, over 4,000 homes when complete, two schools, restaurants and bars. Developers have offset the footprint with extensive parklands, bush, and trails. It ensures no one is ever far from nature or the water, while a ferry terminal offers a scenic commute to downtown Auckland.
Category: Walk
A walk on the edge of Auckland
After a 35-minute high-speed ferry to Pine Harbour on the edge of Auckland, we took a bus through rolling farmland. We then walked back to the harbour via coastal trails, bush paths, and residential areas, enjoying lovely views across the Hauraki Gulf.
Puhinui Stream Forest Trail
Another day, another walk through native bush. Today was the Puhinui Stream Forest Trail in Totara Park, located right next to the Auckland Botanic Gardens we explored a couple of weeks ago.
The island that rose from the sea 600 years ago
Volcanic Rangitoto Island erupted from the sea just 600 years ago. We spent several hours hiking past native bush rapidly establishing itself across the lava fields, eventually reaching the summit for panoramic views.
Pix at Piha’s beach
Morning walk along the black sand beach at the end of our two-night stay in Piha, a world away from Auckland, just a 45-minute Uber ride.
The easy beauty of a waterfall
Hiked more beautiful bush trails today: again up, up, up. It’s impossible to pick just one photo to encapsulate the beauty here, so here’s a waterfall we passed this morning.
A trek around Tiritiri Matangi Island
We took the ferry to Tiritiri Matangi Island, about 20 miles from downtown Auckland. The entire island is a nature reserve, home to restored native bush and bird species once thought extinct. We spent three hours hiking the coastal trails that ring the island. The birdsong was magical: we got to hear sounds that were once thought lost forever.
Exploring our neighborhood: “The Point”
We’ve been in Auckland for ten days, and we finally walked onto the beach directly in front of our rental. Normally the tide has been in when we wanted to go exploring. Today we stuck to our Point Chevalier neighborhood rather than exploring further. Wandering along the peninsula, we found sandy stretches, parks, a great view of downtown, and yet another decent hole-in-the-wall cafe.
The long way to lunch
Ferry to Waiheke Island, followed by a coastal trek: steep up, steep down, repeat. Revived by a fine mid-afternoon lunch of grilled fish overlooking the water. Waiheke’s own Passage Rock Pinot Gris made the revival complete.
A landscape reframed
A massive cruise ship dwarfed the Island Direct Waiheke Island ferry. With 5,000 passengers suddenly in town for the day and a long holiday weekend approaching, the ferry lines were daunting. We quickly abandoned our plan to hike on Waiheke and instead trekked several miles back home, following the coastline for much of the way. Next week will be much quieter for our Waiheke hike.