Going Outdoors

Sanders Reserve - The Faraway Tree

2014-04-11T01:40:00.000-07:00

Pam F, one of our Nordic Walkers asked me to accompany her to a place called Sanders Reserve, she had recently taken a Women's Outdoor Pursuits course and did some of her bush survival skills here. She was so taken by this lovely location that she felt she had to show me the area, I was pleasantly surprised, this is a gorgeous place and a fantastic area to visit for a family or a group outing.

The 'Faraway Tree" - Phil Bonham

Sanders Reserve is about 10 minutes from Albany, it's situated South of Paremoremo and located by the Upper Waitemata Harbour estuary; it's a splendid location, providing areas for dog walking and horse riding. It has a small walking track, a fabulous playground for children and heaps of mountain bike trails with breathtaking views.

Pam took me to see this tree (above) which is along the walking track by an area called Library Point. This is a Macrocarpa (Monterey Cypress) tree and was crafted by Phil Bonham, an Auckland artist and sculptor.

There a wonderful Vimeo clip of Phil talking about his work on the 'Faraway Tree' sculpture, it's a lovely short film that explains where some of his inspiration came from for the figures and animals that are featured in his work.

Take a look: http://vimeo.com/73850678

More information:

http://www.thebigidea.co.nz/work/resumes/133024-phil-bonham
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.599621883423361.1073741838.301561623229390&type=3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paremoremo

http://www.wops.co.nz/

Guest Post Pam F - Nordic Ramblers

2013-06-04T15:32:00.001-07:00

Sunday was Queens Birthday weekend and the weather was glorious.

Our walk was from Browns Bay, I love walking the Bays but without the big hill climb over to the next bay so the group drove to Rothesay Bay to start the walk.

We made it!

Marie, Cindy, David, Mary, Natatia (my friend from Abu Dhabi) and I were the Nordic Ramblers today.

The tide was very low and the water looked very inviting whilst picking our way along the rocky beach, Marie led the way. We were all hoping that we could get around the far point to reach Murrays Bay without taking a swim! A lot of care was needed as the rocks were very slippery. When turning at the very last point a massive rock blocked our way, we did manage to get by it eventually but as I was watching where I was putting my feet, I heard a scream. It was Mary who showed us a new slip and slide trick! She tumbled and ended up in a rock puddle (I hope that you don't have too many bruises Mary) we were so glad that there were no broken bones. The walk along the rocks is not for the faint hearted, I think next time we’ll stick to the Coastal Track.

We continued walking along the beaches until we reached Campbells Bay where we turned around. Marie was wearing a Milford Track beanie and as I was being keen to walk the track one day I asked about the Great Walk. Marie told us a story of a fellow tramper who left their tramping boots outside the hut after being told not to do so. It seems that the *Keas like boots! Cutting the story very short, in the end, the tramper had to be air lifted out minus the boots!

The beach is a great playground for the dogs on Sundays when it's quiet.

Our return walk was by the costal walkway and enjoyed by all. We all happily made our way back for a cuppa at Browns Bay.

Note: For your information, the route that Pam and the Nordic Ramblers took is part of the North Shore Coastal Walk. This walk is accessible during low tide only and care must be taken when passing, not only are the rocks slippery when wet but the cliffs along this route are extremely unstable.

If you would like to try some of this walk, take a look at this website: http://www.teararoa.org.nz/auckland/north-shore-coastal-walk/

*Kea (Nestor notabilis) is a prevalant parrot of the South Island.

Nordic Walking Blog Postponed

2012-08-14T20:29:00.001-07:00

My apologies folks, but a silly accident has left me unable to walk for a while. I'm having some physio at the moment so I'm hoping to be back in action very soon.

Lake Pupuke - Pupukemoana

2012-08-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

The PumpHouse Theatre

I arrived early on Sunday at the PumpHouse theatre car park opposite Lake Pupuke, inTakapuna. It was damp and dreary and I started to wonder if I was the only Nordic Walker daft enough to brave the elements, however after a short wait, North Shore Nordic Walkers began to arrive.
The Lake was grey and looked most uninviting but didn’t seem to deter the black swans that glided through the water, curious to see us arriving and starting out with our poles.

View Of The Lake From The Car Park

It's a freshwater lake, shaped like a heart and is actually two linked volcanic craters that are situated between Takapuna and Milford on the North Shore. Sadly, it’s not possible to walk completely around the lake as houses have been built right up to the water in some places; most of the walk has to be navigated using road and park walkways.

Entrance To Henderson Park

Maori legend has it that the lake was formed after a Tupua couple (spirit or demon), descendants of the Firegods, were disrespectable to Mahuika the firegodess, so she had their home destroyed by Mataoho,the god of earthquakes. Lake Pupuke was the result of Mahuika’s wrath and Rangitoto was apparently raised from the sea for their exile.

Black Swans On The Lake

The full Maori name for the lake is Pupukemoana, which means “overflowing lake”. This area is of great significance for Maori history. There are documented ancient lava caves (Tapua; sacred) on the edge of the lake where Maori would bring sacred bones to rest, these were discovered by early European settlers. There is also evidence that there was a Papakaiinga (settlement) near the lake.

In 1894 a pump house was built by the lake which pumped fresh water to the local area. It was replaced in 1906 and as demand increased the water level of the lake fell and the quality quickly deteriorated. Use of the lake for freshwater stopped in 1944 and supplies were sourced from the Waitakere Ranges. The second pump house became a protected building in 1983 and is now used as a theatre.

Nordic Walking Downhill To The Lake

Our group walked up the hill, turned left out of the car park into Manurere Avenue, then taking another left we continued along Killarney Street and onto Hurstmere Road.

We poled along until we came to the entrance for Henderson Park situated between the houses on the left and followed the path along the lake edge. It’s a beautiful walk, slightly soggy underfoot but gorgeous views of the lake and waterfowl. Keeping the lake to our left we continued with our walk to Sylvan Park, where we came across a few teams of rowers practising. This area is very popular for water sports and with school kids that take part in the Waterwise programme. A little further along along we stopped at the Milford Waterwise building to allow some of our walkers to catch up.

Early Morning Boat Races On The Lake

Turning right we passed through Milford school, it looked like there was a swimming coach giving lessons at the school pool it was pretty chilly I must say I didn’t envy them at all! We turned left outside the school entrance and walked along Shakespeare Road to North Shore Hospital. I hadn’t been to the hospital for a while and I was surprised to see that they had finished the new car park there.

Kids Get The Opportunity To Sail Optimist During Waterwise Classes

We continued along turning into Taharoto Road then took a left turn at the end into Rangitira Ave and right into Pupuke Road. At the top of Pupuke Road we turned left back into Killarney Street then back into the car park by the Pumphouse. The car park was now very busy, a few more walkers had arrived and a diving group with all their paraphernalia spilled over the grassy bank alongside the lake.

New landscaped Garden At North Shore Hospital

We arrived in the nick of time at the Rendez-Vouse cafe next to the theatre as it began to rain. This is a small cafe, warm, with pleasant surroundings overlooking the lake - I bet it looks awesome in summer. I had lemon and ginger tea!

Information and sources:

http://www.northshorecity.govt.nz/Services/Environment/StreamsHarbourLake/Documents/lake-pupuke/lake-pupuke-report.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Pupuke

http://www.arc.govt.nz/environment/volcanoes-of-auckland/lake-pupuke.cfm

Botanic Gardens - Totara Park Trail

2012-07-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

Botanic Gardens, Auckland

The weather was pretty bad on Sunday morning and only a few of us took our poles and met up with some of Jenny’s group, the Acacia Cove Nordic Walkers at the Botanic Gardens, Manurewa. The gardens are situated just alongside the Southern (SH1) motorway, it’s a bit of a trek from the North Shore but the Gardens are beautiful; not so much this time of year but four of us from North Shore Nordic Walkers turned up prepared to battle with the elements for a Nordic Walk around the Totara Park Trail.

Donning poles and stout waterproofs our small but enthusiastic group were lead by Ann though the Botanic Gardens and onto the path for the Totara Park Trail.

Nordic Walking Through The Botanic Gardens

Ann was very knowledgeable and chatted to us along the way about the trail and the surrounding area. One of our walkers Mary, a retired school teacher, told us that there was a school camp facility here. Unfortunately the camp has long since gone, but the bush here is simply outstanding and it's easy to see why it was such a popular spot for a school camp.

Te Araroa - The Long Pathway

Originally the land was purchased by Mr Gillies in 1925 from the Manurewa Land Company, it was in a derelict state when he acquired the land and it was cleared to build a homestead. The homestead was sold twice before being bought by the Council in 1966 after the previous owner had bequeathed that the homestead should stay and the bush remain in the property of the public.

Statue Outside The Visitor Information Centre

The park is typical of New Zealand bush, with native trees and plants in abundance and teaming with wild birds. The park is well signposted with information at various points about some of the tree and plants.

The track was in excellent condition, wide in parts, although there are a number of steep steps and a few inclines. It wasn’t long before we were at the trail for the Puhinui Stream Track some of which Ann said is bridle path, although we were assured that riders weren’t really encountered that frequently. We followed the track for some time enduring the wet weather, chatting along the way; to be honest I hate wearing my raincoat, I can’t hear a darn thing so some of the information Ann was giving us was slightly lost so I hurried along to try and get as near as I could to listen.

Lookout Point - Sadly Not Much to See!

We eventually popped out along a road before continuing our track, stopping briefly under a tree before making our way over to the lookout point, Eugenia Rise. Unfortunately because the day was wet and cloudy we couldn't see much, we could just make out Rangitoto and on turning around we could just see the faded outline of the Sky tower, both of which are always great landmarks to look out for.

We decided to head back to the Botanic Gardens for a coffee to dry off.

Some Of Our Very Wet Nordic Walkers

On the way back into the Gardens Ann pointed out the Te Araroa walkway, this is a 3000-km trail from Cape Reinga which is the northern tip of New Zealand to Bluff in the South and it officially opened in December 2011. The trail one of the longest in the world, passes through bush, along coastline, through farmland and it even crosses through cities; it took ten years to get to the stage it is today and it was done with the help of hundreds of volunteers.

Boatanical Gardens?

The path alongside the Puhinui Stream was recently opened, it’s a significant section of the Te Araroa walkway and I think I read it was 12 km - it's already a very popular walk from the suburbs on the west through to the Gardens and Totara Park on the east.

We made our way back through the garden to the cars for a quick change of clothes and had a chat in Cafe Miko which is a lovely cafe, with beautiful views overlooking the gardens.

Sculpture At The Front Of The Visitor Entrance

My poached eggs and tea were very yummy, just the thing after a cold wet walk. It's always a pleasure to catch up with our fellow Nordic Walkers and despite the wet weather this lovely walk was worth the wet tramp.

Information & Sources:

http://www.teararoa.org.nz/index.cfm

http://www.manukau.govt.nz/EN/Yourcommunity/ParksWalksBeaches/FindAPark/Pages/TotaraPark.aspx

http://www.manukau.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/Puhinui%20stream%20forest%20trail.pdf

http://www.teararoa.org.nz/auckland/puhinui-stream-track/

Unsworth Heights - Jack Hinton Drive

2012-07-10T03:17:00.000-07:00

Unsworth Reserve

North Shore Nordic Walkers met at Jack Hinton Drive, Albany on Sunday. It was freezing and frost was still clinging to the ground at 8.00 am as we made our way across Rosedale Park.

We passed the cable works and some interesting works being undertaken for the new stadium, continuing past the duck pond and crossing at Paul Matthews Road to take the tunnel through to Unsworth Heights.

Walking Through A Very Frosty Rosedale Park

Jack Hinton was a soldier in WWII who received the Victoria Cross. He was born at Colac Bay in 1906 and joined up in September 1939. Hinton, tired of retreating from a column of German soldiers that had arrived at the port of Kalamata Greece in April 1941, launched an impressive attack by throwing a couple of grenades at the soldiers who fled from their posts. He then led a group of New Zealanders into an attack and they managed to chase the garrison into nearby houses. They then held the guns and position until they were overwhelmed by German soldiers and unfortunately Jack was shot.

Mist On The Duck Pond At Unsworth Reserve

Jack became a prisoner of war in prison camps in both Greece and Germany. Apparently he was quite a character and did undertake several attempts to escape. The Kommandant presented him with a copy of the VC medal and offered celebratory champagne at his officer’s club to which Jack is reported to have told the Kommandant to put his champagne up his waistcoat. After the war he returned to New Zealand and passed away in Christchurch in 1997.

We walked through the bush to the boardwalk which has been finished, but it was very slippery and we had to take great care crossing most of the wooden walkways as a lot of them have metal mesh, which when frozen become quite treacherous.

At the end of the boardwalk we congregated at Barbados Drive and waited until everyone had caught up. We crossed the road and then followed the pathway into Unsworth Reserve. A lot of work is still going on in this area and the pathways and bush have been cleared. It looked quite strange and solemn as the frost was still on the grass and trees whilst the storm water pond being home to dozens of ducks was swirling in mist.

Caribbean Drive

It was at this point that some of the group suddenly stopped, we realised that we had left people behind and one of our walkers was most definitely having problems.

This area is in the Albany basin and in winter can be exceptionally cold - certainly more than the surrounding areas. I headed back to the group and one of the ladies was visibly distressed. She was in pain, wasn’t coping well with the cold and her circulation to her hands had suffered.

Some of our ladies turned back with her to one of the local cafes and Margaret kindly stayed with her until she had fully recovered.

Making Our Way Back

Auckland’s weather can be deceiving as some parts can be mild whilst other parts can be very cold. Having endured lots of terrible winters in the UK and also suffering with “White Finger or Raynaud’s Syndrome” and the consequent chillblains, I can appreciate the great discomfort that poor Pam was going through.

I want to share some advice when out walking in cold weather. Wear layers, invest in a couple of Merino tops or polypropylene, use good quality socks, wear a hat and wear gloves. I know some people don't like getting over heated so carry a pack that allows you to take off layers as you go. I had a friend that knitted me cuffs to wear in winter and ladies need to wear long pants, preferably lined to keep in the heat, don’t wear jeans. Try wearing a gillet under your jacket as an insulating layer, keeping the core warm is essential, and keep moving.

Some Of The Reserve Has Been Re Landscaped - Look At The Mist!

We quickly continued our walk and headed to Cafe Drina just on Paul Matthews Road where the ladies had gone for a warm. We were all relieved to see that she had recovered well, the staff were very kind. We stayed a while for a chat over coffee and I had my usual English Breakfast Tea with poached eggs on toast, most definitely with a hint of vinegar this week.

Information and Resources:

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/page/jack-hinton-wins-victoria-cross
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/features/southern-military-history/3918686/Who-ll-come-with-me

More on Walking in Cold Weather: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fitness/HQ01681/

Waiatarau the Reflecting Waters - Freemans Bay

2012-07-04T19:09:00.001-07:00

After recovering from a nasty cold I joined some of the North Shore Nordic Walkers on Sunday at Franklin Road, Auckland for a guided feature Nordic Walk via Ponsonby-St Marys Bay-Westhaven Loop. The walk was organised by June Stevenson and guided by Paul Stevenson.

The Birdcage

The weather was cold as we headed along the pathway just opposite the Birdcage pub to do our warm up exercises. The Birdcage is an iconic landmark in Auckland recently temporarily moved to make way for the building of the Victoria park tunnel and flyover.

The pub was originally named the Rob Roy after a ship with the original owner being William Reegan who was a teetotaller.

Rupa Delicatessen

The impressive building was built in 1884 at Freemans Bay when the area was industrial and where we were stood was originally the shore line. The original bay was lost due to reclamation works and was filled with debris, rubbish and night soil from the “Destructor” which was the city rubbish incinerator in the 1870s, now better known as the Victoria Market.

This area was one of the most notorious parts of Auckland to live in as well as being home to the gasworks, an abattoir, glassworks, ironworks, shipyards and the city morgue.

Western Park

Paul made an excellent narrator as we warmed up and made our way to Western park passing the Rupa delicatessen, formally the Rupa Dairy on Wellington Street. Originally the park would have run down to the sea but after land reclamation it’s now a fair distance from the waters edge. The Tuna Mau stream used to flow right through the park where you could once catch the most enormous Orea (eels) according to Paul.

Mosiac Ponsonby Road

The park is steep in some places so our poles came in handy as we trudged through; this park is considered to be the oldest in Auckland and dates back to the mid 19 century. The park has some interesting features and some of the furniture was designed by a local artist Matthew von Sturmer in a striking art nouveau fashion.

John Radford's Sculptures

On reaching Ponsonby Road we stopped to admire some of the sculptures designed by John Radford. They look like the remains of demolished houses and Paul explained that these were placed as a form of protest to the demolition of some of Auckland’s historical buildings during the building boom in the 1980s. It’s a slightly eerie sensation walking past these sculptures, almost like the ground has opened up and swallowed them leaving just the top of the building protruding from the ground.

Chapel Bar & Bistro

We clattered our way along Ponsonby Road stopping briefly at the corner of Hepburn Street and Ponsonby Road to look downhill at the views. Continuing along Ponsonby Road we stopped at the corner of Anglesea Street and chatted about the Chapel Bar & Bistro which is a very popular place to eat.

Ponsonby Road

This area was originally known as Dedwood and named after a Captain in the NZ Army, the name being changed to Ponsonby in 1873. This area is a very popular place to live now but in the 70s due to the clearance of slums and the motorway development the prices of rents dropped drastically and attracted low income earners. During the mid 80s the area underwent a huge urban transformation as more Pakeha moved into the area and it very soon became a middle to upper class place to live in.

Film Crew - Trivial Pursuits Kiwi TV series

We then moved off to the old Britannia Theatre or the Three Lamps as it is known now. The Britannia was built in 1910 as a roller skating rink and Paul said it was very popular. It later changed to a cinema in the 1920s before being converted into the Three Lamps shopping Plaza in 1982. Apparently in the 1800s large gas lamps would have been placed in the middle of the roads, which then would have been dirt tracks, hence the name the Three Lamps. I’ve also been told that Vogel's Bread was first baked in Ponsonby Road!

Historic Ponsonby - Heritage Walk

Continuing along we crossed over to the Former Ponsonby Post Office at the top of St Marys Bay Road. Designed by John Campbell a government architect and built in 1911 this is a great example of Edwardian Baroque Style.

Leys Institute - Ponsonby Community Library

Walking down St Marys Bay Road we passed what was once Leys Institute (now a library) and stopped to watch a film crew, before Paul introduced us to one of the historic homes of the area and it seems part of a heritage walk. Despite its dubious past Ponsonby is now a bustling area with some of the most expensive houses in Auckland.

Walkway Alongside the Motorway

We continued to make our way along to St Marys Bay walkway that runs adjacent to the motorway and made our way across to West Haven Marina. We didn’t use Jacobs Ladder to the new footbridge as the panels have delayed the opening, but cheerily walked to Billfish for a coffee and quiz. It’s a fabulous venue with outstanding views of the marina and city.

Quiz and Coffee at Billfish

After sustenance we made our way back along the marina towards the city crossing at Fanshawe Street and walked across Victoria Park. June pointed out the coloured spots on the concrete motorway posts. These apparently were done by a Miriam van Wezel entitled 'Colours of Our History’ it represents the change and uses of colour throughout the history of settlement in New Zealand, from ancient Maori through to modern day. These huge circles of colour painted onto the beams of the viaduct echo the shape of the concrete columns, turning from beam to beam, rising and falling, to represent the movement of the planets and tides.

New footbridge over the motoway

Victoria Park as Paul mentioned in his dialogue was literally made from a dump, he told us that much of this had to be removed as it was contaminated, and it was made clear for this new park and area.

We walked through the park passing Victoria Market and back towards Franklin Road. The Feature walk took just under two hours and to be honest I could have spent more time looking and researching the area. This most historic place in Auckland has much more to explore and investigate.

Thanks to June and Paul for a great morning.

Information and Sources:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10670092
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemans_Bay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Park,_Auckland
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/victoria-park-tunnel/heritage.html
http://www.ponsonbyroad.co.nz/websites/johnradford/index.htm
http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/places/parks/westernpark.asp
http://www.bossleyarchitects.co.nz/blog/?tag=/Miriam+Van+Wezel
http://www.bossleyarchitects.co.nz/blog/?tag=/Miriam+Van+Wezel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_history_of_Ponsonby,_Three_Lamps_and_Freemans_Bay

Browns Bay - Mairangi Bay

2012-06-21T04:17:00.001-07:00

What a glorious day on Sunday and we had a good turn out too. North Shore Nordic Walkers met at Valley Road Car Park in Browns Bay, the sun was shining, the beach was very busy with dog walkers and the tide was on its way out. We poled across the sand to the steps at the Southern end of the beach to Beechwood Road and into Dan Jones Bluff.

Some of the North Shore Nordic Walkers at Browns Bay Beach

I noticed that the empty section at the top of the stairs had been cleared, it’s been neglected for years and it looks like someone is about to build a new home which would have spectacular views overlooking the sea and Browns Bay beach.

Steps to Beechwood Road - Section to the Right

We tramped in single file along the coastal pathway toward Rothesay Bay, where we picked up another Nordic Walker along the way.

The view from the Coastal Track at Murrays Bay

I love this walk. It’s mainly flat although once in Rothesay Bay there is a steep incline up the Rothesay Bay Road before turning left into Churchill Road and taking the Gum Diggers Trail onto Murrays Bay. The coastline is on the left with outstanding views of Rangitoto and the track is concrete all the way down to Murrays Bay Beach. There are three ways of crossing to Mairangi Bay from this point. You can take the Crow’s Nest Rise Walk along the cliff, take Beach Road or use the man made causeway. The tide was as I said on it’s way out so we crossed the causeway and made our way across the sand at Mairangi Bay.

Steps to the Gum Diggers Trial at Murrays Bay

I have written about this area in a previous blog Te Ararora – The Long Pathway. The Maori named this piece of land between Mairangi and Murrays Bays Waipapa, which means “water over wood" which was a reference to the stumps and logs left behind from ancient forest that were found in the sand around this area. In 1881 the name had been changed and the bay was renamed after Joseph Murray who farmed the kauri trees on his land between Mairangi Bay and Murrays Bay.

Nordic Walking at Mairangi Bay

The name Mairangi Bay (the sheltered arm) was chosen for the area as it seemed the most appropriate, and this Bay is a small but bustling village of boutique type shops and popular cafes.

The Concrete Causeway at Mairangi Bay

I bought my husband the White’s Aviation Arial photography book a couple of years ago, there are some stunning shots of this area in the book and much of the East Coast Bays on the North Shore in the 1950’s before the Auckland Harbour bridge was built. Check the links below for more information about Leo White and White’s Aviation Company and if you get the chance buy or borrow the book, it’s a great reference book and such an inspiring way to document the history of New Zealand, you can also get more information if you visit the library at MOTAT amongst many other places.

The Steps at Browns Bay to Dan Jones Bluff

We trudged along the beach past the Surf club where we stopped briefly for everyone to catch up before making our way back to Murrays Bay.

At Murrays Bay some of the group decided to take Beach Road back to Browns Bay whilst I and the others mounted the steps back to the Gum Diggers Trail, returning to Rothesay Bay and eventually back down the steps at Beechwood Road to Browns Bay beach.

Coffee at The White Flower, Browns Bay

We usually opt for Ben Gusto for coffee, but this week we tried the White Flower Cafe on Clyde Road, we had a bit of confusion over teas but the service was good and I had a very unhealthy chocolate caramel slice, yummy but made with desicated coconut - not keen.

Information & Sources:

http://www.mairangibayvillage.co.nz/community/mairangibayhistory
http://www.mairangibayvillage.co.nz/sitemap

Kauri Park

2012-06-16T23:20:00.001-07:00

Kauri Park via Rangatira Road

Sunday was a grey day, the forecast was for fine spells with rain and I had organised a walk into a bush area called Kauri Park in Birkenhead. I arranged to meet everyone at 8.00 am at the Rangatira Road entrance and after a delayed start we set off into the bush keeping to the left and following the track down the steep steps. I must also mention that to protect the kauri all shoes must be brushed and sprayed before entering this Park and there are cleaning stations available at all entrances. This is to try and stop soil based disease from damaging the kauri trees and spreading from contaminated shoes.

Kauri Park Tracks

This park has huge kauri trees, I believe that the older trees are actually to the North of the park and are quite easy to spot along the track, the kauri is indigenous to New Zealand. I'm told that they are the "conifer" tree of New Zealand.They can grow to 50 metres in height and originally much of the North of the North Island and Northland would have been covered in kauri. They are simply one of the most impressive trees I have ever seen; they have huge trunks with girths up to 16 metres. Apparently the bark flakes and sheds from the tree to protect it from invading parasites. Maori used the timber of the tree to make boats, to build with, to make carvings and the gum was mixed with water and plant extract which was then chewed - sort of an early version of chewing gum.

Kauri Trees

The trees are evidence of ancient woods going as far back as the Jurassic age, sadly much of the kauri forests had been plundered by the 1900’s as European settlers arrived the kauri was used for timber and the gum extracted. The young kauri tree was very popular for making masts and spars. The great kauri forests and bush were cleared to make way for farmland and houses.

Steep Steps and Narrow Tracks

In the early 1920’s 15 acres of this park were first made a public reserve,by Birkenhead Borough Council. A lot of improvements were made, tracks were constructed and entrance gates were made to the tracks in 1931, then in 1948 a serious fire threatened the reserve. A further 5 acres were added to the park in 1965 which was then under the control of the North Shore Scenic Board.

Stopping for a De-robe

The track we followed from Rangatira Road is the beginning of the loop track and to the left the main kauri grove is only few minutes’ walk away. The trees here are around 200 and 400 years old.

Much of this track is not suitable for Nordic Walking, it’s steep, very slippery and much of it is boardwalk and what isn't boardwalk is narrow in places and riddled with tree root. It is however beautiful, it’s been lovingly restored with tanekaha and kauri. The nikau, puriri and many other plants and trees live amongst the kanuka (shrub). It can be quite dark in there as the trees are tall and the canopy is dense in parts.

Very Steep in Places and Slippery Underfoot

We crossed the bridge at the stream which took us past native plants, orchids and ponga trees. Eventually as we walked further we came out at Hebe Place so we turned back and followed the track through to the right but couldn’t pick up the track.

Beautiful Trees, Plants and Bush

Despite having a map we did find following the track difficult, it would be useful if the tracks were marked to make them much easier to find. However we continued walking through until we came across another entrance at Kauri Road where we continued making our way around the park on the footpath.

Walking through the Street and Back to Rangatira Road

We made our way up the steep Waipa Street, turned right at the corner of Verran Road and continued along Rangatira Road and back to the cars.

We spent a few minutes searching for one of our walkers before making our way over to Verrans Espresso and food.

This is a lovely old fashioned Kiwi cafe, waitress service with a beautiful selection of food and beverages. The service was excellent and my Blueberry Dazzle smoothie was one of the best I’ve had for a long time and my eggs on toast were scrumptious.

Information & Sources:

http://www.bngcommunitytrust.org.nz/kauri.php
http://www.localhistoryonline.org.nz/cgi-bin/CUI?e=0-------0----------0-1-0-0-&a=d&c=nshore-newspapers&cl=CL3.1980s.1981&d=nsnw-NNI-AAA-9680
http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-plants/kauri/

Shepherds Park – Oruamo Creek

2012-06-05T18:58:00.003-07:00

A few peeps were surprised that I had organised a walk on Sunday as it was the Queen’s Birthday weekend. My philosophy is that I’m sure that the Queen won’t mind and as her royal subjects we owe it to her to keep fit and well.

Shepherds Park, Beach Haven

I chose Shepherds Park as June Stevenson and I have worked there with Green Prescription patients, we’ve only used the footpath and park and when I found that there was a walk around the estuary I was keen to take a look.

Beach Haven is located North West of Auckland city, the first European settlers to this area arrived in the 1860s and until the early 1920s the area was primarily rural consisting mainly of farms growing strawberries and holiday homes (baches). The area was subdivided for housing later in 1923 and during the construction in 1959 of the Auckland Harbour Bridge the housing development in the area was sufficiently completed to make it into a largely urban populated area.

Making our way to the Bush Walk

Shepherds Park is named after the family who lived there on a farm, originally the area was market gardens before it was developed into a park for community use. The park offers many amenities including rugby, soccer and tennis; it also features an outdoors fitness circuit for anyone to use.

The headland that is adjacent to the park has been restored to a beautiful bush environment. It’s situated on Hellyer’s Creek and still contains middens from previous Maori occupation. Centuries later Thomas Hellyer opened a kauri mill business in 1840 that supplied timber to Auckland city.

Outstanding views of Hellyers or Oruamo Creek

North Shore Nordic Walkers met at 8.00 am at the park via the Melba Street entrance and parked outside the football (soccer) club. We were joined by June and Paul Stevenson from Nordic Kiwi who were also keen to try the walk.

We started our walk by taking the path on the left past the back of the soccer club, turning right at the Oruama Landing sign we made our way through the bush and onto the track. We followed the track by the coastline though the bush alongside the houses that back onto the water.

Some of the steps are steep and can be slippery

I’d advise anyone trying this track to take extra care when it’s wet as it is full of tree roots and holes. It is quite boggy in parts although some of the track is boardwalk and there are steps to climb to take in the views of the estuary and the upper harbour, with a backdrop formed by the steep slopes of Greenhithe.

Beautiful tree canopies along the walk and some branches are at head height!

We stopped to look at the views at Hellyers Creek (Maori name is Oruamo which means “for all”) before continuing along the coastal track. The views are truly outstanding along the estuary, we passed many little wharves some of which looked to be in very precarious positions. The area is marsh wetland and teaming with birds. The plants and trees are magnificent along here, with huge rimu, kauri gum trees and many of New Zealand’s native trees have been replanted by volunteers and the team at the Kaipatiki planting project.

Beautiful views along the estuary track

We proceeded along the track before exiting at Beach Haven Road, turning right we then continued right into Lancaster before taking the left turn back into Melba Street and onto the car park.

Boardwalk view

I think everyone was surprised and delighted at such a beautiful walk that is tucked away on the other side of the park. It’s definitely worth about an hours trip out to walk the area.

One of the small wharves along the way

After a short deliberation we took the cars into the small centre of Beach Haven and walked across to Cafe Au Bon Coin Patisserie, which is on the corner of Rangatira Road. It’s a small establishment but has the friendliest staff with excellent service and I can recommend poached eggs on toast, ils étaient très bons. ; )

Information and Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_Haven,_New_Zealand

http://beachhavenaucklandnz.blogspot.co.nz/2008/02/parks-hilders-park-beach-haven-wharf.html

http://www.bngcommunitytrust.org.nz/shep.php

http://www.harboursport.co.nz/site/harsport/files/ACOM/N%20S%20Walks&Maps/FINAL%20BEACH%20HAVEN%20-%20SHEPHERDS%20PARK%20July.pdf

Northcote Tuff Crater

2012-05-31T02:40:00.000-07:00

The Tuff Crater Restoration Project

The weather on Sunday was ok, despite the downpours during the week the weekend wasn’t too bad at all. It was just as well as I had been advised that the Northcote Tuff Crater (also known as Tank farm) and Onepoto Basin walk was treacherous underfoot when wet. I was hoping to have a local with us as a guide but unfortunately they were unable to make it so we tramped on regardless.

View from the look out at St Peters Street

The North Shore Nordic Walkers met at the Library at Northcote at 8.00 am. We walked down College Road crossing over to number 77 turning right onto the walkway in St Peters Street; we stopped at the Crater lookout and then turned right onto the track which was mostly gravel, boardwalk and around wetland. Further on we crossed onto the grass adjacent to the motorway.

Boardwalk around the Crater

Onepoto, (Maori for short beach) is a volcanic crater or maar on the North Shore situated near to the approaches to the Auckland Harbour Bridge, The 26 ha crater is the result of a number of massive eruptions about 250,000 years ago. It first emerged as a freshwater lake, then later became a tidal lagoon when sea levels rose after the last ice age. The crater floor has been reclaimed and now has a sports field, a children’s playground and a lake surrounded with beautiful native bush. Some areas of the tuff were quarried away in the 1950s to obtain landfill for the Northern Motorway. The tidal Onepoto Stream runs through the swamp under Onewa Cycle Bridge near Waitemata Harbour.

View from the Motorway Bridge

This area was also known as Tank Farm - the name comes from the petrochemicals storage tanks which were located here during World War II.

Onepoto Domain

At the end of the walkway we climbed up the steps onto the motorway bridge to take a look at the traffic zipping past; the view of the city is spectacular from the footbridge. From the bridge we walked back across the grass and past the Pumping Station on the left. Taking a right between the houses we walked though to Heath Ave. Following our map we headed right down Sylvan Avenue where we crossed over to number 72 and along the track to Onepoto Basin. We followed the track through the park to the playground then we heard the loud speakers, Auckland Run Series were having one of their events and we arrived in the middle of it. Curses. Mental note - must check the events calendar for future walks!

Children's Playground

We stopped to look at our map when a helpful young lady came along and gave us directions to another walkway to take us to Northcote Tennis club, unfortunately it clashed with the runners and we tried to find an alternative route. Grace found us a track between the houses but it circled back further along the street so we ended up back in the race;. Curses again. Anyway we meandered for a wee while before deciding to walk facing the runners along the street and exiting Exmouth Road before turning right into College Road and back to the library.

The Lake

We walked though to the shops and found a lovely cafe for our coffee, I had very yellow eggs on toast and was told that they were probably organic although I don’t know as my Nan would say "eggs is eggs", but they tasted superb!

Information & Sources:

http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Volcanoes/Sci-Media/Animations-and-Interactives/Volcano-map-of-New-Zealand

http://www.theaucklander.co.nz/news/slow-boat-to-danger/1018200/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onepoto_(volcanic_crater)

2012-05-23T04:52:00.000-07:00

World Nordic Walking Day 2012

New Zealand

This is the third year of the World Nordic Walking Day event, and New Zealand was the first country to commence the celebrations at the Sir Peter Blake Marine Educational and Recreational Centre at Long Bay, Auckland on the North Shore and hosted by Paul and June Stevenson our INWA representatives. The centre is ideally located with fabulous views of Long Bay beach and cliffs, and a great venue for our event.

The Sir Peter Blake Marine Education &Recreation Centre

Despite the cold and wet weather the previous day we had a great turn out and the weather improved as we met at 8.30 am and separated into our groups for the two walks starting at the beach. There was a 45 minutes walk through the park and back and a 90 minute walk organised to go up the cliff past Granny’s Bay.

Taking Poles to Long Bay Beach

Long Bay beach is a kilometre long and to start the celebrations of our unique exercise of Nordic Walking we warmed up with some exercise on the beach then walked to the North end to walk across the park, along the grass and towards the Vaughan Homestead.

Warm up on the Beach

The homestead is over 100 years old, made of New Zealand Kauri and Puriri native wood. It stands overlooking the beach at Long Bay with magnificent views of the park. We lingered a while to look at the view before taking the nature trial through the bush and separating into our groups.

Vaughan House Greensleeves - Caught you Sheila

Our group led by Paul and myself walked through the cattle gates across the trail and onto the cliff top. The views are simply magnificent, it’s quite slippery along the rest of the cliff track here and we picked our way carefully through the mud and wet grass to a great viewpoint - someone was surprised that they could see the lighthouse at Tiritiri Matangi Island.

We returned to the track via the Nature Trail and through the park, taking a toilet break along the way and then back down the beach to MERC at the South end.

Top of the Cliff before Pohutukawa Bay

At the centre we had a quiz, speeches and acknowledgements for Nordic Walkers that had achieved their personal goals by entering events.

Paul Stevenson gives the Message from INWA President Aki Karihtala

All of the speakers were Nordic Walkers and most had very personal and interesting experiences to share with us. It was a great fun morning and we are lucky to have some strong Nordic Walking groups across Auckland; we did have Nordic Walkers visit us from Rotorua too. It was a great opportunity to catch up with some of the other groups and Walking Group Leaders and exchange walking ideas and walk plans.

Bronze bust of Sir Peter Blake

The morning went so quickly I felt like I didn’t get the chance to speak to everyone that I would have liked to, but it did give me the opportunity to meet some of our new Nordic Walkers. June mentioned one of our instructors Sandrine Smith is leading a team for the Arthritis NZ marathon and I will also be taking part and are looking for more participants. If you want to know more about the event or sponsor our team, The Nifty Nordic Walkers here’s our details: http://ow.ly/b5man. Thanks!

Orewa - Alice Eaves Reserve

2012-05-16T03:30:00.001-07:00

Before I met with the intrepid North Shore Nordic Walkers on Mothering Sunday, I was presented at 6.00 am in the morning amid lots of clattering in the kitchen, a beautifully made cooked breakfast consisting of two hard boiled eggs, bacon, beans, two crumpets and a toasted teacake by my two beautiful children. Needless to say by the time I met the group at Orewa Surf club at 7.30 am I was fit to burst!

Orewa Beach and Surf Club

Orewa is a small town North East of Auckland city centre, the beach is ideal for Nordic Walking. It is 3 kilometres of long sandy beach situated on the Hibiscus coast, home to surfers, kayakers, kite surfing, wind surfing and swimming. You can also catch the Orewa Surf Club life guard training and events down on the beach on a Sunday. The clubhouse was originally first built in 1960 although the club history dates it back to the 50’s. It was added to in the 70’s but in 1990 the clubhouse was finally finished and is now located in pole position adjacent to the beach at the South end.

Road to Alice Eaves Bush

The morning was cold but sunny and ideal Nordic Walking weather, so we wrapped up and ventured forth.

We walked to the North end of the beach and crossed over the Hibiscus Coast Highway to The Old North Road and into the entrance for Alice Eaves Reserve.

Kauri Tree over 300 years old

There is a massive Kauri in this reserve over 300 years old and the area is brimming with native trees like Puriri, Rimu,Totara and Nikau, you definately get the sense of history walking amongst some of these ancient trees.

There is a Pa not far from the Hillcrest boundary; apparently it has a few middens that indicate it was previously used as a living area by Maori tribes people in the area and was lived in until around 1827. The land was taken over by European settlers and was eventually purchased by Mr & Mrs Eaves in 1919. When Alice Eaves died in 1955 she bequeathed the land back to the nation.

Nukumea Stream Walkway

The reserve is maintained by the Lions club, they have signage on the gates and signposts at some of the trees.

We walked through the Reserve on the lower track which takes you along a wooden walkway that runs adjacent to the Nukumea Stream and the Kensington Park development.

The Blue Footprints for the Millenium Footpath

The track does go on further but there is no walkway and can be very slippery underfoot, we continued along until we came to the point where the track became unsafe. We then headed back to the stream and the crossing at Kensington Park. There is a higher track that leads onto the Pa area but we'll leave that for another day.

We then walked through the new housing area and back onto the millennium path at Puriri Ave continuing along the road and back across the highway onto the beach.

The Clock Tower on Puriri Ave

The group unzipped and de-coated feeling very warm, some of us made it over to the King’s Plant Barn for coffee. I really couldn’t face another breakfast so I ordered a berry smoothie again.
Information & Sources:

http://www.orewasurfclub.co.nz/history.html
http://www.rodney.govt.nz/DistrictTownPlanning/plans/ReserveManagement/Documents/Alice_Eaves/AliceEaves_Amended_Plan_March08.pd

Kell Park - Kaipatiki

2012-05-09T02:31:00.000-07:00

Sunday brought the North Shore Nordic Walkers cold autumnal weather, it was a grey and cloudy start, but at the end of our walk the sun had cracked through. We met in the library car park at Kell Park, Albany. This park is becoming quite a favourite walk, it’s fairly flat and runs adjacent to Lucas Creek. I’m not sure if I have mentioned this before but Albany is actually from the Gaelic name Alba, which is the Gaelic name for Scotland.

The Landing used in the past as a terminus for boats travelling to and from Auckland

I did organise a trip to Albany Trig, it’s actually across the road from Kell Park, but the pathway is being repaired at the moment and it’s very slippery underfoot. If you do visit the Trig, take somebody with you as it’s very steep in places and you will have to cross the creek; there is no bridge but it is do-able just take your time and stick to the path. If you make it across there is a lovely waterfall with a picnic table and seats situated just opposite the fall.

To start the walk we turned left and down the steps, turning left again at the bottom of the steps and over the bridge. Walking through the park and past the houses on the left then continuing along the path and onto the Landing area.

Lucas Creek

In the past there was a small Pa situated North of Lucas Creek where Maori would hunt for crayfish and eel, the land around this area was known as Kaipatiki which means 'to eat flounder', or the 'feeding ground of the flounder'.

Many wharves were built around the Landing as water travel was the most common way to transport goods, to travel to and from Auckland, and to travel around the North Shore. The Landing certainly became the most used terminus but was demolished in the 1930’s and has over the years been developed as a residential area.

Massey, Albany Campus

Taking a a right turn once we emerged from The Landing we continued following the footpath along the Albany Highway past Albany Campus, Massey University on the left.

We walked down Bass Road and through the streets to Kinleith Way, had a joke about dropping in for a cuppa at Margaret’s house but pushed on, eventually walking through a small entrance between the houses, following the path alongside the Creek.

The bush and trees along this pathway are full of birds, and it’s interesting to note that many of the properties overlooking the Creek are laden at this time of year with fruit. I had never seen citrus fruit growing in gardens before I moved to NZ. Even in Greece and other European countries the fruits I have seen are generally grown in orchards.

The Creek Surrounded by Native Trees and Bush

We crossed the Creek at a small bridge taking the path back onto Albany Highway and walked back towards The Landing. Small platforms or jetties have been erected along the waterside presumably for fishing and there quite a few ducks out on the water.

The Massey Campus car park was deserted - a strong contrast to what it normally looks like during the week. Built over 15 years ago the Campus is a huge establishment with a Spanish architectural theme, it’s one of the most modern Universities in New Zealand.

Canon at the top of the Flying Fox

We ambled along the pathway and back into Kell Park where we stopped for while and watched Pam E chicken out of riding the Flying Fox, but I spotted a white duck out on the water so we headed over to take a look. Its a great place to take the kids with a huge slide and cannon for them to explore.

Wooden Sculpture at Albany

We finally made our way across the grass to the children’s play area and had chat by the bronze sculpture in Albany village square but somehow our cafe arrangements got confused and Cindy and David wandered down the road whilst the rest of us had a muffin and a beverage at the Opium Cafe.
The lifesize rooster and chair was created by a local artist Joanne Sullivan-Gessler in 2004. It appears that the rooster has attracted some attention from thieves in the past and the life sized sculpture has had a couple of attempted thefts. It must be really heavy and I can't imagine that it would be easy to remove without the use of some kind of equipment.

'Balance' Rooster Sculpture at Albany Village Square

Anyway I had a berry smoothie and someone asked what was in it. Apparently it is made of berry concentrate and vanilla powder mixed with ice. Think I may stick with Lemon & Ginger tea on our next visit.

It’s worth mentioning at the end of this week’s blog that I did actually go out on Saturday night to a party, and was rather jaded on Sunday morning. After our walk and on returning home I found I had spent the whole morning walking with my pants on inside out and nobody told me! Seems that wearing your clothes inside out is supposed to be very lucky, not sure who for though!

Next Sunday I will have the said walking pants back on the right way around!

Information & Sources

http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/aboutcouncil/localboards/devonporttakapunalocalboard/northshorethematicreviewvol2ch6end.pdf

http://www.harboursport.co.nz/site/harsport/files/ACOM/albanyandlucascreek.pdf

http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/international/about-massey_home/masseys-campuses.cfm

Te Ara Alexandra Pathway

2012-05-02T04:39:00.001-07:00

North Shore Nordic Walkers met at Rosedale Park on Sunday, it was cold but the rain held, we all met at Jack Hinton Drive and took a stroll down Jack Hinton Drive and into the park.

Rosedale Park North Home of Competitive Softball

There are lots of excavation works going on at the moment; this is for a new stadium and new softball diamonds. Rosedale Sports Stadium will be ready for use in the 2013 season which will be in time for the World softball Championships to be held at Rosedale Park from 1 – 10th March 2013.

There is other work going on there too, it seems that cable installations are in progress from Albany to Wairau and a lot of the park is fenced off at the moment, but as we progressed along our route it was nice to see that the installation of the outdoor exercise equipment was now complete and was being used.

Pam E Demonstrating a Graceful Dismount with Nordic Walking Poles

Coming out of the park and crossing over from Jack Hinton Drive to Barbados Drive and onto the concrete path that runs alongside Alexandra stream we passed though into the tunnel under the Upper Harbour Highway. The painted corrugated tunnel artwork was the handiwork of Jonathan Grange a local and self taught airbrush artist who has done much work on the Shore, it’s painted with bushes and trees making it bright and inviting.

The Airbrushed Tunnel by Jonathan Grange

After a short walk we were on the boardwalk which has been completed and looks terrific, we all marched across making a clatter with our Nordic Walking Poles. It’s much nicer than walking across the path as it is covered with tree trunks and can be dangerous underfoot when it’s wet.

The Beautiful Arum Lily

The bush is really dense along here and is lined with the New Zealand Ponga Trees. The Ponga or Kaponga grows the silver fern that is the national symbol for New Zealand whilst the koru which is often depicted in Maori art is based on the young curled frond of the Ponga leaf, which has the distinctive silver colour on the underside of the leaf and gives it it’s name. The reserve is actually situated between housing and commercial buildings although you would never think that you’re actually still walking in suburbia. I was struck by the huge Arum lilies growing either side of the path and was told that these are probably noxious and extremely poisonous, but they are beautiful to look at and grow wild in New Zealand. A little further along we came across a striking Lilac tree too, it seemed so out of place, typical of an English Garden but didn't seem quite at home in the bush.

The New Wooden Walkway Through the Reserve

Another amazing featue in the bush environment and quite wonderful to look at, are the tiny Gorse Spider Mite webs, these tiny creatures were introduced into New Zealand as a mean of biocontrol. They spin the most intricate, dense cobwebs and tend to cluster in the plant, originally they came from Europe and have been ideal to control infestations of the Gorse plant.

The Intricate and Fibrous Gorse Spider Mite Web

Once out into the open, the path is lined with new exercise equipment which brings you out at Unsworth Heights. This is one of the North Shore’s popular suburban areas particularly for young families and is situated just north of Rosedale and not too far from Glenfield.

Crossing over the road we made our way back to Unsworth Heights Reserve, after a short walk passing more equipment, we arrived at the park however there were further earthworks interrupting the path. Gingerly we climbed across the orange plastic fencing continuing along past the children’s playground, across the street and onto the path back into the reserve.

On the way back instead of turning to the left after leaving the tunnel, we took the gravel path along the right hand side of the stream, it comes out a little farther along the pavement where we crossed back to Jack Hinton Drive and into Rosedale Park.

Pam E Leading & Demonstrating a Very Graceful Ascent to Unsworth Park

It did start to get a little damp and cold but we managed to keep dry on the short Nordic Walk back to the cars. Once we arrived back at the cars and I had distributed the wipes to clean our poles, we were deep into conversations about the nearest cafe. It was decided to visit the New Deli Cafe for coffee as most of the Nordic Walkers have been before and it’s got a nice selection of beverages and breakfast items.

Despite much confusion over coffees and what could have been an expensive scrambled egg on toast, the waitresses were quick to sort out our order. The scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast are recommended, it arrived on my plate looking like a scale model of Rangitoto!

Information & Sources:

http://www.sportsground.co.nz/Article.asp?SiteID=5630&ArticleID=13835
https://www.asa.ac.nz/documents/transport/albanynewsletter1.pdf
http://www.aucklandtransport.govt.nz/moving-around/delays-roadworks/CurrentRestrictions/Pages/Te-Ara-Alexandra-Cycle-Walkway-Tunnel-Upgrade.aspx

Hobsonville Point

2012-04-24T04:22:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a local walk and I didn’t really have much to say about it, but this Sunday North Shore Nordic Walkers met at Hobsonville in the morning; we parked opposite the Catalina Cafe and it was quite an adventure. I copied a map from the Internet to try a walk around Hobsonville Point. Unfortunately some of the walk had been interrupted by earthworks for new housing and school development and a good portion of it wasn’t easy to access. The place was really busy though, they have a traditional farmers market on a Sunday at 9.00 am and the place was already bustling as we passed through.

The Catalina Cafe

We crossed over the road at the Corner of Buckley Ave and Hastings Crescent and walked around the back of Catalina Cafe. We poled past the community plant network garden, down past the children’s playground and past many of the old service buildings.

The Quaint Church or Pump House

Hobsonville Point was previously the Royal New Zealand Air Force airfield, set aside for development at the start of the millennium and is now emerging as a new semi rural suburb of Auckland, located on the North Western shore of Waitamata Harbour and named after the first governor of New Zealand.

Signposts around the Coastal Walk Path

Originally the area was used for farming, what I found interesting and a few of our walkers commented on, was that the earth that had been dug up by the bulldozers was mainly clay. Apparently there were clay and brickworks in the area and most of the pipe work in Auckland would have been made there.

Some of our Nordic Walkers at the Landing

In the 1920’s the Royal New Zealand Air Force built the airbase which later joined up with Whenuapai airfield. Later in the 1930’s the air strip was evidently too short and the area was used as a repair and equipment utility. Eventually in early 2000 the RNZAF relocated most of its logistics and operations elsewhere.

Walking through the old air base was really kind of eery, we all had that feeling that we shouldn’t be there, there were lots of signs stating that the area was strictly for Defence personnel only.

We made our away across the tarmac path and down to the Landing, this area was used by the old seaplanes, it’s a small concreted area that faces the sea, this will become the new Hobsonville wharf and ferry terminal.

View from the Landing

Eventually we came across signposts that lead us onto Bomb Point, it looked like there was a path in the grass and another walk. We didn’t venture down the path but continued to the airfield where a sign told us to look out for the wind socks. Well with no wind socks in view we picked our way across the building site and walked across to where the new primary school would eventually be built.

Sign for Bomb Point which wasn't half as exciting as we expected

It was at this point when we came across a couple of ladies we saw earlier on the car park outside the Catalina cafe. I asked about any further walks and they pointed us in the direction of the yellow bridge so away we tramped, passing a pump station that we thought at first was a small church. We crossed over the road and made our way across the Memorial Park and onto Clarks Lane Footbridge.

Not a single windsock in sight!

The bridge is indeed canary yellow and is tiled at the edges with beautiful details, each tile along the end had some cycle or truck tread artwork being the creation of Matt and Kate McLean. They have been put together most decoratively and add a lovely touch to what could have been a boring path across a very busy highway.

From the bridge you can see what would have been some of the homes used by the pilots whilst working at Whenuapai airfield. Mary pointed out some of the traditional houses and from where we stood we could also take a good view of the Sinton Windows Sculpture which was apparently created using recovered materials.

Clark Lane Footbridge

We were now ready for a coffee so we headed back past the park towards the cafe, however as usual we were distracted by the new housing development and took a slight detour to have a nosey at the new homes.

Once satisfied that we weren't missing anything we ventured back past a lovely kiddies playground and onto the Catalina Cafe.

Matt and Kate McLean Tiles

The cafe was doing a roaring trade with hungry shoppers and walkers, however the queuing was short and service was fast, and I had two poached eggs on toast with lemon and ginger tea! Some of the group went off to see the farmers market and the remainder made our way back to the car park.

Sinton Windows Sculpture

I think we’ll be returning to Hobsonville as it’ll be interesting to see the finished result - I might even go back and explore some of the other paths.

Information and Sources:

http://www.hobsonvillepoint.co.nz/about/history/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobsonville

http://www.arc.govt.nz/albany/fms/main/Documents/Council/Consents/Notified%20applications/HobsonvilleLandco/Appendix%2010-21/Appendix%2010%20-%20Archaeological%20Assessment.pdf

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsmargret/5266006132/

http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/SiteCollectionDocuments/parksleisureculture/Heritage/hobsonvillewalk.pdf

Little Shoal Bay & Le Roys Bush

2012-04-04T02:48:00.002-07:00

After missing a couple of weeks walking due to hubby working in Malaysia, I decided that a change of venue was in order for North Shore Nordic Walkers and I planned a walk around the Northcote area at little Shoal Bay. In fact I came across the map and walk directions in one of the free booklets ‘Explore the Shore’ put together by Margaret Scrymgeour last year. I met Margaret at one of the ‘Walk to Work” events organised by Living Streets a couple of years ago, she’s a local lady and a keen walker and she put together a collection of walker maps a few years back and they are available on the Harbour Sport website. It's great to see that they have all been collated and put together in three volumes covering many of the scenic bush and walking tracks on the North Shore.

Bird perched on a stump on the wetland

I have visited the area once before and Little Shoal Bay is beautiful with fabulous views of the Sky Tower, Harbour Bridge and the city. The wetlands are located across the Northcote and Birkenhead areas of the North Shore. Northcote Point was formerly known as Stokes Point which was originally named Te Onewa, the name for basalt rock in Maori; the name is also used for “divided earth”. Originally much of this area was a fortified village, palisaded and entrenched around the surrounding Pa. The bush and coast provided a great source of food and shellfish and was an ideal settlement for many generations of Iwi.

Little Shoal Bay Reserves

In 1841 Onewa was sold to the Government, the Crown purchasing the whole of the Shore between 1840 and 1854.

In the mid 1800’s Northcote Point had a regular ferry service until 1864 when steam boats came into service. Several steam companies evolved but around 1881 most had sold out to the Devonport Steam Ferry Service and the Northcote ferries were discontinued. The following year the Northcote and Ponsonby Ferry Company re-established the service; then in 1892 the Devonport Steam Ferry Company began running services to Northcote, until the Harbour Bridge was opened.

Walking the Boardwalk with Poles

A gentleman called Le Roy purchased most of the land around the area in 1918 and apparently he was an outstanding and upright citizen, providing much work for many men during the depression, he paid the men to develop the area into what is now called Le Roys Bush.

Harbour Bridge from Little Shoal Bay

Little Shoal Bay is small with a tiny sandy beach, it has a children’s play area and other outdoor activity equipment. Opposite on the grassland there is a cricket pitch and as you cross the grass on the left there is the entrance onto the boardwalk that leads into the bush walkways.

The weather was great and we all met and parked at Little Shoal Bay Reserve at 8.00 am at Marine Terrace on Sunday morning. We had a great turnout and one of the Northcote walkers Alan turned up and helpfully guided us through the Reserves and Le Roys Bush. We took a right across the footbridge to the trails and walked though the wetlands, first catching sight of what looked like a wetland bird possibly a shag although I couldn’t get a clear shot and it flew away as I crept closer.

Stunning Bush and Walkways throughout the Reserves

The wetlands are superb and constantly kept reasonably free of choking weeds by volunteers on a regular basis. The native plants and trees such as the Kauri and Silver Fern Ponga are in constant conflict with weeds such as Blue Morning Glory and Honey Suckle which are prevalent here in New Zealand and are classed as noxious weed.

Streams with Fish and Eels

The walkway along the wetland is mainly timber boardwalk and I would advise that you keep your paws on your poles whilst using them as they aren’t pole friendly and Grace one of our Nordic Walkers had a struggle keeping the pole tips out of the gaps along some of the walkways.

The walk was quite steep in some parts and some of the group took a slightly easier route at one of the bush exits whilst the hardiest of us tramped back along the street and up the hill.
We wandered though the area, thankful that we did have Alan with us, being a local he was on hand to guide us through the bush and back onto the walkways. Just before Chelsea Heritage Estate walkway we were joined by a walker who asked if she could join us, although she did look a little bemused by the poles. She followed us as we wandered though Chelsea Heritage Estate Park and out the other side onto the road. As we looked to the right we could see Birkenhead Wharf at the bottom of the road. We then made a left turn where we parted company with our new walker companion and continued along the pavements through the streets back to Little Shoal Bay and onto the car park.

Chelsea Heritage Estate Park
(Famous Chelsea Sugar Refinery)

The walk in all took about 1 hour and 50 minutes, it was hard going in parts but was very enjoyable, and I would recommend that you take a map and plenty of water if you wish to try it.

We took the cars up the hill to a local place called the Ravenhill Cafe for coffee and enjoyed our refreshments in the courtyard. I had set out the various walking booklets that I have collected to plan our walks for the next few weeks and we selected some interesting new walks and some old favourites.

Marie & Mary Stretching out after a long Nordic Walk at Little Shoal Bay

Not sure if I’ll be walking next week over the Easter break but I’m looking forward to more Nordic Walking adventures over the next few weeks!
Information and sources:

http://www.bngcommunitytrust.org.nz/lsb.php
http://www.nzplantpics.com/sfeature_galleries/tree_fern_gallery.htm
http://www.aratikawatersports.com/index.php option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=5
http://www.dineout.co.nz/restaurant.php?rest=8349
http://www.northshorecity.govt.nz/LeisureAndCulture/ParksWalksAndPlay/Parks/Documents/Stokes-TeOnewa.pdf
http://sites.google.com/site/leroysbushauckland/projects/notes-on-history-of-le-roys-bush
http://www.nzbirds.co.nz/

Te Ara Tahuna Estuary

2012-03-13T01:32:00.000-07:00

Estuary Cycleway and Walkway

Sunday was a wet day and I debated as to whether or not the walk should be cancelled. I had arranged to meet some of the North Shore Nordic Walkers locally and others at the i-site at Orewa. Very often the weather can be atrocious in Auckland overnight then in the morning it can clear, at 6.30 am it was still bouncing down and rather cold. I decided to carry on and the weather was fine, although still damp and colder than recent but the rain held as we walked around the estuary.

We started the estuary walk from the i-site car park and worked our way inland along the path, it’s a great walkway shared with cyclists and dog walkers. The path is skirted by houses, some of which are big with spectacular gardens and views overlooking the water. The concrete path is divided into a cyclist section and a walkway for pedestrians and cheerily shared by all. We often stop and talk to people on our walk around as the path is easily negotiated and reasonably flat, it’s also used for many walking and running events. After a circuit of the estuary the path leads under the road bridge to the sea side where you can carry on past the camping grounds and walk down to the Surf Club and beach. Today we walked along the estuary only and we had a new walker join us who already knew one of our regular walkers and she slotted in quite easily.

Garden at Orewa Estuary

We poled our way around the far side of the estuary past one of our favourite houses where the owner obviously takes great pride in their garden, it’s extremely ornate with lots of ornaments and little features dotted around the open garden. We walked across the bridge, the native flax and lillies are starting to fade now but still dominate the water's edge. We walked past the new housing complex, continuing along the path past Silverdale PrimarySchool and onto the bridge just outside Kingsway College. A little further along this path we bumped into June and Paul Stevenson taking the ‘Nordic Edge” class along the estuary. It’s a great location for training, parking is easy and simple to measure your time and distance; if you get a chance to take one of the training classes I do recommend them.

Cycleway and Walkway

We continued along on the Southern side of the estuary past the new houses to the bridge and up onto the road bridge where we watched the tide coming in for a while as it came in really quickly.

The third bridge here was built in 1999, on the site of the first original wooden bridge that was built around 1881. The second bridge was cleverly designed some fifty years later, there were no roads as such and water transport was used extensively which was a problem at Orewa river mouth. The engineers however designed a turntable which allowed boats with masts to pass through. Then as time progressed and road transport increased, the bridge became unsafe, a sharp turn caused many accidents off the road onto the bridge, so the larger bridge that is here today was developed that removed some of the dangerous curve out of the road. We walked back to the i-site car park, altogether this walk takes about an hour and a half and is roughly around 7.5 km; an excellent way to blow the cobwebs away on a Sunday morning!

Lillies along the Estuary

As I packed away my poles I noticed a lady unpacking her poles, they weren’t Nordic poles so I asked her if she had been walking long. In fact she hadn’t as she suffered a broken ankle in December and was still struggling but had read about Nordic Walking and decided to have a go to see if it helped with her recovery. Not one to miss an opportunity I instant whipped out a card and invited her to walk with us sometime and to take a class. It’s amazing how many people actually buy tramping poles, I hope she was OK they looked way too tall and heavy for her!

Bank of the Estuary

We decided to try the cafe in the Estuary Art Centre, it was a bit slow as they were only able to make one coffee at a time and that meant we all drank at different times, but I did have the smoked salmon bagel which was rather tasty and I didn’t have to wait long at all. We didn't have the chance to take a look around the exhibition, I was told that the centre was originally a Kentucky Fried Chicken emporium. It certainly was a great venue for an art gallery, set on two floors with the upper floor immediately accessible by the entrance and the cafe occupying the space by the entrance.

We will have to have an explore of the gallery sometime!

Cure For Kids - Long Bay Beach

2012-03-07T22:53:00.001-08:00

North Shore Nordic Walkers met locally on Sunday, only a few of us actually turned up, I suspect the weather bomb the previous day had put a lot of people off from walking, but as it turned out the morning was spectacular, it was slightly cold but lovely to walk in.

We met at Toroa Street, and parked outside Toroa Physiotherapy, we were joined by a Swedish gentlemen called Nils, I hope that’s correct, who brought along his poles and he told me that there is a path outside his home in Sweden that he walks most days. He is visiting his son and family in Torbay and enjoying the company of his grandchild.

We walked down Toroa Street turning left at the bottom into Cliff Road and followed the track through the back of MERC and across the bridge to Long Bay beach.

Boat at Long Bay Beach

As we chatted and walked we noticed a boat in the water, it’s not often you see a boat at Long Bay and there appeared to be a couple of buoys in the water and another small orange craft bobbing around not too far from the markers. It was as got closer we saw a camera crew and huge crowd of people gathered at the far end of Long Bay beach.

Crowd waiting for the Swimming Race

One of our walkers Pam E approached a chap in a wet suit to ask what was going on, and he explained that there was a triathlon event, a swim, run and bike ride through Long Bay. It was then we spotted the Cure for Kids banners and then at this point swimmers set off down the beach and into the water.

Cure for Kids

We made our way across the beach onto the grass area and in the background near the back of the park were marquees and a finish line complete with bikes stood up and ready to be collected by the participants. We stopped and chatted to a couple of the girls with laptops, who told us a little more about the event. We carried on up the road towards the start of the Coastal Track but there were markers already in place for the bikes. We decided to walk up to Vaughan Homestead so that Nils could take a look at the old traditional Kiwi weatherboard house that is currently run by volunteers and I believe it is to be opened for Devonshire teas shortly; now that would be a nice end to a morning walk!

Marker at the Coastal Track

Coming back we thought that we might pick up the Nature trail but a Marshall appeared and told us that the track was going to be used by the 12k runners so we headed back to the road. We stopped at the Coastal Track entrance and spoke to another Marshall who was directing the bikes through, I mentioned that we had never seen the event at Long Bay before and apparently this is the first time the triathlon had been held at Long Bay.

Vaughan Homestead

We made our way along the footpath in single file to avoid any collisions with the bike race and came across someone trying to get an oven ready for the finish and the famished participants, the smell was divine. We were bewildered as to what the oven was for and it apparently was for pizza!

We continued on along the road through the park and onto Beach Road, doing a bit of traffic direction as we passed through for people looking for the event. We had to cross over to the opposite side of the footpath to avoid the orange traffic cones and the roadwork, climbing the hill to Torbay shops and then crossing over and back to Toroa Street.

It was a quick and short walk on Sunday but we did extend our time slightly by enjoying a coffee at the Baker’s Gallery.

The Cathay Pacific Half & Quarter Marathon

2012-03-01T01:19:00.003-08:00

I didn’t walk on Sunday with North Shore Nordic Walkers; instead I attended one of Auckland oldest fitness events at the Orakei Domain, The Cathay Pacific Half Marathon and 11km Run & Walk. The event has run for 18 years and is popular with all kinds of people from runners to walkers and even Nordic Walkers and I have taken part in three of these in the past few years. The event is marked with a T-shirt printed in a different colour each year and it was great to see them lined up on a makeshift washing line this year to commemorate their 18^th anniversary.

Cathay Pacific 2012 - celebrating 18 years in Auckland!

Some of the North Shore Nordic Walkers (nearly) took part in the event two years ago which was called off due to a Tsunami warning. Despite the disappointment June Stevenson from Nordic Kiwi organised an alternative event which many of the erstwhile Nordic Walking participants attended a week or so later around the same course. I remember that we got some funny questions as we walked by, many people thought that the race had in fact been rescheduled! On the day however June redirected us to Cornwall Park where many of the event participants could be spotted around the park sporting the famous coloured Cathay Pacific T-shirts. In 2010 the shirt was a far from fetching shade of orange so it was quite easy to spot them amongst the green of Cornwall Park.

During the last month or so June and Paul Stevenson have been running a training squad for the 2012 event, some of the squad had never taken part in any marathon and as we all know preparation is paramount if you really want to take part in any event. Over the last few weeks on a Sunday, our squad has been training at various locations in and around Auckland in order to improve technique, walking times and fitness levels. It’s been a great experience and I would encourage anyone who is a little timid of entering into any event, just do it as it is or indeed for fun or for a sense of personal achievement. My advice would be to get professional instruction and coaching as it can make a huge difference and also join a team for support and encouragement The group that I was part of was fun and easy going but extremely focused, with mixed abilities but everyone felt part of a bigger commitment.

21K Runners Finish

Everyone receives a pack from the organisers and in this comes a start time, because the event has staggered starts it feels less crowded and it’s easy to pick your pace at the beginning. It’s also arranged so that all the participants finish in time for prize giving at 11.00 am. I arrived earlier than my allocated 11K start time in case the weather got warmer and made my way from the start line on Orakei Domain. I set off along the Tamaki Drive sea front towards the city, fixing my position behind a power walker who was pounding the pavement at a reasonable pace. This area is open to the public during the event and the pavement is also shared with other runners, walkers and cyclists so it can be tricky to negotiate. I find now that my hearing is tuned into my surroundings much more so during events and I was very aware of someone coming up quickly from behind, I caught a glimpse from the right where a walker passed close by very fast.

The weather was superb for walking and I have Iearned through various classes and certainly from other events to slow myself down as I tend to become very competitive and want to walk quickly; so despite the temptation, I carried on in the shadow of the power walkers in front of me. It’s whilst walking behind someone that you also start to notice their technique, and I realised quite quickly that neither of the two ladies were going to last at the pace they were going.

For a while it was game of cat and mouse with the said two ladies until I got to where the strikers were protesting outside of the dock gates. It was there that I passed them both, walking further down to the crossing point where the police and marshalls were holding back the traffic for us at Quay Street.

Paul Stevenson & some of our Nordic Walkers

Crossing over in Tangihua Street I was passed by a female runner, she was running quite heavily and seemed to be intermittently walking/running some of the course. I followed and overtook her several times all along Beach Road, Roynane Street and crossing into the Strand.

Once back onto Tamaki Drive we continued our relay until we turned into Ngapipi Road, then onto Pantai Drive which was when I lost her and lost my direction. I inadvertently followed the 21 K runners way into Coatea Ave and on the corner of Kepa Road before I realised what I had done.
I had to quickly bound with my poles back to the 11 k track to the finish and I made it in spite of my detour in 1 hour and 40 mins.

I was clapped in by some of the crowd and my fellow Nordic walkers.

We all hung around the finish line watching and cheering on our fellow team mates, it was a great atmosphere and well organised. The event is well sponsored and co-ordinated by Calliope Athletic and Harrier Club every year, it’s safe and its fun, the day is highly enjoyable and the prize giving is immensely entertaining and done with great humour. I’m always surprised to see just how many participants are actually visitors from other countries.

June Stevenson & some of the 2012 Nordic Walking Training Squad

There are some very unflattering pictures of me along the way which I’m not going to share!

You can find some of the team photos on the Nordic Kiwi Facebook page, make sure you “Like” our page and keep up to date with events and the latest health and exercise articles. Back to normal walking next week.

Course Map:

http://www.coolrunning.co.nz/races/cathaypacific/map07.gif

Other Info:

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/events-cancelled-while-nz-tsunami-alert-3384513

The Lucas Creek Walkway

2012-02-23T03:05:00.001-08:00

A few of the North Shore Nordic Walkers met at Kell Drive on Sunday to explore Kell Park once again. It was pretty cold in the morning and the mist was still hanging in the air and the grass was very wet!

Kell park, Albany

One of our regular walkers Pam E passed some walking books to me a few weeks ago, one of which was Explore the Shore, Volume One, Albany& Greenhithe Area Walks. The booklets are available online or you can collect them from the library and information centres.

Cannon at the top of the Walkway overlooking the creek

The books have been put together by a lady called Margaret Scrymygeour, they are beautifully illustrated with maps and written instructions on local walks.

I have met Margaret at one of the Walk to Work events in Takapuna in 2010 organised by Living Streets Aotearoa and Auckland City Council. Margaret is a lovely lady with heaps of local knowledge and she put the maps together a while ago; I've used The Harbour Sports website to print her maps, its lovely to see them all professionally published and presented in these wonderful booklets.
As we had already been to Kell Park and wandered about there the previous week I decided that we should try the Kell Park and Lucas Creek Track and take the 5 km walk that features in the booklet.

The painted chooks and some of our Nordic Walkers

We met at the car park which is located in Kell Drive behind the shops and library at Albany. This is a recently developed suburban area with lots of lovely houses which run adjacent to one of the local and oldest waterways.
Following the instructions we followed the path down to the Creek and took the left hand walkway across the footbridge, walking along the concrete footpath and turned right across the grass into the Nature Reserve. We walked across with wet trainers until we reached Wharf Road and at the signpost for the Reserve we went straight over Wharf Road and continued along the grass, and crossed over onto the Lucas Creek Walkway.

The huge slide at Kell Park

At Kinleith Way there is an exit into a walkway between a couple of houses and crossing the road, we encountered another walkway which exited at Mahoney Drive, which passed through a third walkway further along Mahoney Drive and exited into Vinewood Drive.

Following our map we continued and took a right at the playground into Roanoak Way taking yet another walkway between the houses and that’s where it all became very confusing.

Beautiful carved wooden chair in the park

Alan had joined us for our walk this week, Alan usually walks with the group in Northcote but has brought his poles along to walk with us before. Alan and I agreed that at this point the instructions were a bit confusing so we took a right and followed the path back and eventually made our way to Wharf Road and onto The Landing. What we should have done really was go back across the wet grass to Wharf Road. From The Landing we took a right into Landing Drive and at Widdison Way we crossed over to the walkway and then made our way back to the Nature Reserve.

The Albany Village Logo

We followed the footpath back to Kell Park and back up to the platform where we had earlier met a few of the local dog owners, one of which had tried Nordic Walking at Long Bay in the past. I love the cannon here and there's a huge slide as I mentioned last week and down the steps to the left is the flying fox. We could see eels swimming in the creek below.

At the end of the walk we had the opportunity to stroll around the fruit trees by the children's playground and had a debate over some of the fruit and what we thought was a pear tree is actually a quince. There are also some wonderful wooden sculptures in this area, one of which is an enourmous wooden chair beautifully carved from a tree trunk.

After talking for a while we made our way back to the cars and had a coffee at the Opium Cafe, however being so early on a Sunday we had to take a stroll for 10 minutes while they opened. Despite the dubious name the cafe serves excellent blueberry muffins!

The Chooks

It’s worth noting that there will be Art in the Park next weekend at Kell Park, and if you’re free take the kids or grand children, it’s a great venue and there are some intersting sculptures dotted around.

Make sure you look out for the beautiful painted chooks on the wall.

The Coastal Track - Long Bay

2012-02-15T01:19:00.000-08:00

Despite the cloudy start on Sunday we managed to get a two hour walk in at our favourite and local beach Long Bay. Only a few of the North Shore Nordic Walkers walked this Sunday as a number of walkers were away or were otherwise busy. The weather in Auckland is exceptionally humid at the moment and I personally have found it difficult to walk in, it can affect breathing and makes walking exceptionally hard work. The temperature has been around 24- 26 but feels much hotter, even the brief showers that we’ve been having are not bringing that much relief.

Some of North Shore NordicWalkers, Long Bay Coastal Track

We met and walked down Toroa Street in Torbay, turned left into Cliff Road and down to the bottom of the road; from there we made our way to the Oneroa track and down to Long Bay Beach. We passed MERC (Marine Education Recreation Centre) on the right and made our way across the foot bridge and turned left to follow the road right into the park.

After the short walk up to the bottom car park we followed the sign for the Coastal Track on the right, which took us up and onto the cliff. The walk is hard work as there is a slight incline all the way to the top but what makes it harder is that underfoot the path is gravel; hard for poles to gain purchase and certainly unkind to knees should one take a tumble. The other setbacks along the route are cattle grids and gates, it does seem that you are forever opening and closing gates and as we all know cattle grids aren’t particularly great for navigating whilst holding onto poles, what with that and the added hazard of stepping into cow pats makes the walk a little challenging.

Rangitoto from the Cliff top, Long Bay

Once at the top of the cliff the views are spectacular overlooking the Hauraki Gulf and even though the weather wasn’t clear we could make out a number of the small islands surrounding the Shore. We made our way down to Granny’s Bay which is a small beach and at Low tide it is possible to walk across and back to Long Bay. It’s not always advisable though as you have to scramble across rocks and if they are still wet it can be dangerous underfoot, also like many of the cliffs in the area they are unstable and it isn’t advisable to walk so close to the cliff.

Granny's Bay, Long Bay

Granny's Bay Beach

We admired the view from Granny’s Bay and some of our locals did attempt to name some of the islands in the distance but I had to look them up when I came home, as no one seemed 100% certain although Rangitoto was of course instantly recognisable. On the right of Rangitoto there is Motutapu which is now a reserve and a lot older than Rangitoto and it also has a very different botanical and geological environment than Rangi (as it’s known locally). I was told by the ladies of the group that there is a causeway between Rangi and Motutapu and there are walking tracks to explore there (watch this space as I feel a ferry ride coming on). On a clear day we can see all the way over to the Coromandel peninsula and I suspect Great Barrier Island. Out to the east of Gulf Harbour, not far from Shakespear Park and across the water is Tiritiri Matangi.

Tiritiri Maitantgi - Photo 2010

Tiritiri Matangi or Tiri is an open sanctuary and reserve which I have visited in the past and it’s a fabulous place having undergone an extensive replanting programme run by many volunteers and is now home to many endangered NZ animals and birds, including the famous Greg a naughty Takahe. Greg is partial to the odd sandwich, in fact when we were there he managed to swipe a chicken sandwich from an unsuspecting child, we weren’t sure if this made him a cannibal! They are quite a large ungainly bird very similar in colouring to the smaller Pukeko although the experts would probably tell me otherwise. There only a couple of hundred left of these birds, they are wonderful to watch and with all the beautiful birds on Tiri Island it does make trip by ferry worthwhile. Again another potential walking day but are walking poles allowed?

Greg, Tiritiri Mataingi - 2010

After our brief stop at Granny’s Bay we walked back the same way but on the return trip we picked up the Nature Trail on the left at the bottom of the Coastal Track which took us back down the cliff onto wooden steps and into bush. The trail here is relatively short and mainly boardwalk covered with a kind of mesh to prevent slips although it’s a bit of a nuisance for poles and you do have to be careful that you don’t lose an asphalt paw on the way around. This trail brought us out by the side of Vaughan Estate and turned right back into the park over the bridge where we stopped a while to watch the eels. Making our way back via the road we took a shortcut across the park and headed down to the beach.

The beach was very busy with lots of dogs, but the weather was starting to change so we quickly ducked back over the small bridge opposite MERC and headed up Beach Road and back to Toroa Street, we did get slightly damp but after a two hour hike over the cliff we were very keen to have our coffee at the Artisans Bakery at Torbay shops.

Sadly there were no date scones left, but I can happily report that the blueberry muffin was exceedingly good!

Information & Sources:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/auckland/hauraki-gulf-islands/motutapu-island-recreation-reserve/

http://www.tiritirimatangi.org.nz/

Greg, YouTube and the Tiri Takahe experience http://bit.ly/x5aYVr

Rocky Road - Milford to Takapuna

2012-02-09T01:21:00.000-08:00

The weather was great for Nordic Walking on Sunday and North Shore Nordic Walkers met at Milford Reserve.

The reserve is opposite Milford beach but you can’t access Takapuna from Milford when the tide is in, so you either have to take the walkway round and up steps onto the road or as we did, walk through the streets and onto the main road, starting off at Kitchener Road and eventually turning into Hurstmere Road.

Milford Beach

Hurstmere Road in Takapuna is lined with restaurants, cafes and many boutique shops; it’s a busy location with many offices and local government establishments. We ducked into one of the side streets which went down onto the beach, it eventually came up along the boat ramp and we made our way onto the walkway from the beach.

Along this road there are some magnificent Oak trees and gorgeous houses; one of these homes is Algie’s Castle, at 253 Hurstmere Road. Captain John Alexander Algie came home from a visit to Scotland and had his his very own castle constructed. It’s very impressive and has recently had a major refurb, originally it was called Merksworth Castle.

The pathways around this area are not fully constructed and can be very tricky to walk around, particularly if the tide has been in and the rocks are wet and can be extremely slippery underfoot.

Plaque at Takapuna Fossil Forest

We left the beach and walked along near the Boat Ramp cafe on the right, I can recommend the coffee there although it’s an extremely busy place and can be quite noisy if the tractors are heaving boats back and to.

A little further along we came across a couple of plaques with information about the fossilised forest where we stopped for a wee while. This area was forest and had been covered by lava some 100,000 years ago. A crater that is now Lake Pupuke erupted and covered the area in hot lava which has left beautiful outlines and imprints of tree bark and leaves, some of them are ancient Kauri trunks and when the tide is out there are hundreds of tree stump remains visible from the boat ramp.

Lava at the waters edge and Rangitoto

Another plaque was spotted further on at the corner of the beach and O'Neills Avenue; it's dedicated to Allan Charles O'Neill another migrant from the UK and a civil engineer, he and another engineer John Logan Campbell completed the first survey and subdivided the Takapuna and Devonport area in 1843. O'Neill went on to to be the city Surveyor and Treasurer in 1854.

We walked along the pathway adjacent to the camping grounds in Takapuna and back along the coastline along the sea wall and onto the Giant’s Chair. Now I must tell you that this walk is not for the faint hearted. It can be very slippery in parts and it’s best to take your time or if you’re unsure take the side street and walk around.

Some of our Nordic Walker's in the Giant's Chair

The Giant’s Chair was built around 1926 on the new sea wall, it was Captain Algie that created the chair with the same Basaltic rock possibly to compliment his Castle themed residence along Hurstmere Road, it’s an enormous chair and adds a little fun to the pathway.

We continued along carefully and picked our way along the rocks, eventually coming to the substation at Milford Beach where we could scramble onto a concrete path and back to the Reserve. We stopped briefly outside one of the houses there that sports a rather stately looking giraffe sculpture, it’s a delight to see and stands in the lawn looking like it’s munching the tree tops, I’d not noticed it before as it blends in quite well in the garden.

Giraffe Hiding in the Trees - Milford

We Nordic Walked along the beach front and back to our cars, all thankfully in one piece and looking forward to our coffee.

We drove to Mairangi Bay and visited one of the cafes, where I was barked at by a small pooch, but after traversing the treacherous rocks between Takapuna and Milford, the little dog’s attempt to intimidate was somewhat lost on me!

Information & Sources:

http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/Streets/960.detail

http://www.northshorecity.govt.nz/LeisureAndCulture/ParksWalksAndPlay/Walkways/Pages/Coastalwalkwaydescriptions.aspx

http://www.northshorecity.govt.nz/leisureandculture/parkswalksandplay/walkways/documents/takapuna-milford-walk.pdf

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=10775356

Back to the Blog – Kell Park

2012-01-31T01:21:00.000-08:00

With Christmas over and the kids returning to school I can return to my blog without having to worry about how long one has been on the Playstation and keeping the other one entertained and out of mischief.

North Shore Nordic Walkers walked the usual Sunday walk right up until two weeks before Christmas and we started back on the 15th January, but the weather has been awful this year so we walked locally in Torbay and revisited Awaruku Bush.

Last Sunday Pam F took us for a walk through Kell Park at Albany which is situated along State Highway 17, it’s a bustling place with many shops and eateries, the village boasts a small library and a lovely little square that features some of the work of local sculptures. The name Albany comes from Alba (Gaelic for Scotland), originally Albany was named Okahukura or Kaipatiki, Maori names that mean ‘place of rainbows' or 'place of butterflies'. Originally though this town was on the main road and would have been a busy route to the city which was then the capital at the time before Wellington become the capital of New Zealand in 1865. The journey to the city must have been an arduous trip to Auckland either by horse or cart, the land was rough terrain, the very weary traveller would have probably stopped overnight along the way and continued with their travels by ferry at Birkenhead.

Daniel Lucas

In 1845 the area was named Lucas Creek after a Flax Miller called Daniel Lucas (possibly Culcas), it wasn’t until 1890 that the area was officially renamed Albany after one of Queen Victoria’s sons, Prince Leopold, the Duke of Albany. Apparently Lucas was a whaler who came ashore and became a flax trader; the flax was collected in the area and taken from the wharf to Auckland. The reason the name changed seems to have been influenced by some of the local people wanting to rid the town of its poor reputation of harbouring deserting sailors and illegal whiskey distillers.

According to the plaque at Kell Park there are no records of where Lucas came from, other than he bought the land in the 1840’s alongside the creek which stretches west towards Riverhead. The muddy stream that runs under the highway is tidal and still retains the name Lucas Creek He didn’t reside long in the area either as he left in 1846, his lands were abandoned and there is no record of him dying in New Zealand, it would seem likely that he may have left the country.

Some of the North Shore Nordic Walkers
Sorry David!

The village allowed chickens to roam free and was famous for it's free-range Bantam chicken population, sadly these had to go for various reasons only recently but there are sculptures and wall paintings dedicated to them around Kell Park and the village still uses the rooster as a logo.

Pam F had marked out one of the paths in Kell Park for our Sunday walk and we met by the local shops at The Avenue. It started to rain but it passed very quickly so we walked across the road to Georgia Crescent and then followed a small walkway into the Park. We passed a huge kids slide on our way in on the left and walked through the park, eventually exiting the park and onto a footpath, so took a right turn and continued onto the Massey Campus. As we made our way up the hill and through the grounds we passed Albany Senior School situated South West of Albany Village and along the highway. It’s a relatively new school and opposite there would have been Albany Presbyterian Church (originally called Lucas Creek Cemetery) but in 1991 a cyclone hit the area and decimated the church building.

We made our way back up the hillside and across the campus towards the footpath at Georgia Crescent, but Pam F and a couple of us had a nosey around the houses. There is a large housing complex and the owners get the use of a pool and gym, so we felt obliged to have a peep through the gates.

Moving on we made our way back to the shops to meet the rest of the group and drove onto one of the local cafes. I must go back there the food was yummy and the staff were really friendly, darned if I can remember the name of the cafe though!

Links and Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany,_New_Zealand

http://www.thealbany.co.nz/about_us

http://www.albany.co.nz/information/albany-history/

Special thanks to Pam F for her input.

Back in Action

2011-11-30T02:12:00.000-08:00

I’ve had a busy few weeks and my usual Nordic Walking routine has been dramatically disrupted. On our return from the UK the whole family had to move at short notice, which has been closely followed by a special milestone birthday for my husband and a few other things like Santa Parades and other events have caused shorter walks on a Sunday.

Following the Coastal Track at Long Bay

On Sunday 20th November at the earlier time of 7.30 am, (which incidentally caught a couple of our walkers out) North Shore Nordic Walkers walked locally, luckily for us the weather has been good and our favourite haunt of Long Bay regional park has completed some of the new tracks over the cliff top. It’s a great walk and we actually started from Valley Road at Browns Bay up the walkway adjacent to the beach and up to the top across Torbay, walking along Cliff Road through the Te Araroa walkway and down across the beach. Taking the path at the end of the Long Bay beach we followed the Nature Trail across an open field and onto the cliff. Now that the area is cleared there are spectacular views from the top, however there is a new gate system that does interrupt the walkways and makes Nordic Walking slightly trickier along the path, there are also little bridges that you can use but these have the cattle bars which are also not conducive to walking with poles. We opted to take the cliff walkways as our means of descent and walked our way through the park along the roadside. We all noted the new play area; it’s looking great with new paths and play equipment and looks to be on track for completing before the school holidays in December.

The New Coastal Track on the Cliff at Long Bay

Sunday 27th November we had a very short walk, meeting at Toroa Street and again walked along Cliff Road down to Long Bay and across the beach. We took the nature trail again but this time we turned left instead of the right as before, this takes you around the back of the park and onto the road. We saw heaps of Pukekos and were treated to the sight of a hedgehog curled up on the pathway.

The Earthworks on Beach Road

As we moved further along the track just by the rear car park area, one of our Nordic Walkers spotted a huge rabbit, but before I could get my camera out it shot across the field and out of sight. I even saw quite a few skinks in the bush area too as we whisked by. It was truly a Nature Trail and a reminder to all of us that we live in a wonderful area with great opportunities to walk both beach and bush trails where you do encounter beautiful birds like the Fantail or the Tui.

Faye Nordic Walking Her Faithful Companion

On our way back we stopped to survey the Earthworks on Beach Road, the work here seems to be gathering pace and the area is changing dramatically, traffic at Long Bay and Torbay is going to be busier over the next few years but it's good to see that footpaths and walkways are being extended and improved.