4 minute read
Wandering Westies: A day walk on Waiheke
Waiheke Island might not spring to mind as a destination for good walks. But with the 100km Te Ara Hura walk running around the entire island, there are literally dozens of coastal and bush jaunts that can provide a welcome change of scene from the Waitākeres.
One of the most accessible is the first segment of the Te Ara Hura, which starts at the Matiatia ferry terminal and winds around the north-western promontories of the island to Oneroa. Taking around two hours, it’s the scenic alternative to the five-minute bus or taxi that most visitors take to the island’s main town centre.
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It’s a Sunday morning when our ferry bumps to a halt at the Matiatia wharf. Leaving the crowded terminal, we walk to the left of the bus turning circle and along shelly Matiatia beach. If the tide is high, you can take the small tracks that divert slightly inland or just clamber over the pohutukawa jutting out over the water.
After 10 minutes we reach the end of the beach and the beginning of the dirt track, running through the scrub and toward the end of the headland. Here little gaps in the trees open up views over Matiatia Bay and the boats gently floating at anchor. The ferry we were just on is cruising back out of the bay toward Auckland CBD, which can be seen in the distance, poking out around the edge of Rangitoto Island.
Near the tip of the headland the track winds north along the coast, opening up views across the Hauraki Gulf to Motutapu, Rakino, Hauturu and Great Barrier Islands on a clear day. It’s a fairly easy walk; a dry, wellformed dirt track with moderate ups and downs along the Queen’s Chain – a 20-metre-wide space between the teal sea and the monstrous mansions sprawled out like bunkers on the slopes.
Another 30 minutes and the track traces the coast around to the east, eventually reaching a set of steps which takes us down into a valley of scrub with the most extraordinary birdsong. There must be at least 200 tūī among the mānuka, creating the kind of chorus you’d only hear in designated sanctuaries. With no possums
and a very intensive pest eradication programme, Waiheke is in a way an island sanctuary, and the results are abundantly clear.
We climb the other side of the valley before descending once again to sea level, eventually popping out at a grassy coastal reserve in Owhanake Bay. It’s here that the track through Island Bay has been temporarily diverted due to recent storm damage, which has eroded large parts of the coast. You can still head along the track for another 20 minutes before it closes off, otherwise the diversion heads along Korora Road, a quiet and pleasant stroll past vineyards and rows of poplars.
After 20 minutes, the road continues toward Oneroa, but you can take a left and walk up to the other side of the Island Bay diversion; a headland with a view over Fossil Bay and Hakaimango Point.
Otherwise it’s just another 10 minutes to the steps that lead down to Oneroa Beach, and the village above it. Beyond that, a further 95km of coastal walks await.
The Te Ara Hura coastal walk around Matiatia Bay. Photo by Michael Andrew.
Have your say on how Auckland’s ‘green jewels’ are managed
Auckland’s 28 regional parks cover 41,000 hectares and are visited by six million people a year. The network includes five predator-free sanctuaries for endangered wildlife and volunteers worked more than 90,000 hours in the last year, playing a vital role in the conservation of these special areas.
It’s been 10 years since the last management plan for the network was developed and it’s now time to tell Auckland Council more about what you want from your regional parks. Submissions will lead to an update of the current management plan. Council hopes that this first round of consultation will result in people from all around the region providing input.
Consultation is open from September 1 to October 12, 2020. Have your say on the future of our regional parks by visiting https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/have-your-say/topics-you-can-have-your-say-on/ regional-parks-management-plan-review/Pages/default.aspx
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