Auckland's Coast to Coast walk
Călin / 14 May 2023
For Mother’s Day we went for a stroll across the city – the Auckland Coast to Coast walk. This year it has been raining at almost twice the historical average rate and last Tuesday we had another downpour that triggered flooding and gridlock in the city. So when the weather forecast promised no rain, we got out!
The Coast to Coast walk can be done in both directions. We decided to do it South to North, starting from Onehunga and walk back home, since we live only about 20 min walking from the Auckland Domain (one of the major parks on the walk). The walk is a 16 km trail, the Auckland section of the Te Araroa, New Zealand’s end-to-end trail (Te Araroa is on the bucket list, and I hope that someday we’ll do it whole, not just pieces – but that’s for another time!). As opposed to the Te Ara ki Uta ki Tai, the Coast to Coast walk is a path through urban roads and parks, not specifically constructed as a trail. What it offers though, is a sampling of the highest volcanic cones within Auckland and views of almost all of them!
We started from the Onehunga Transportation Center where the bus dropped us by visiting the Onehunga Bay Reserve. It was low tide, and the lagoon was empty, so the views were not that exciting!
Right across the Onehunga Bay Reserve, on the other side of the bridge leading to the airport, is Māngere Mountain.
From Onehunga, the walk goes through local streets, traversing Royal Oak on the way to One Tree Hill park. We didn’t expect that those roads will be some of the major thoroughfares, with relatively high traffic. We drove some of these roads before, but it was fun to see all the things that we missed while going with the car. Wallking allows you to take in many more details!
By the time we reached One Tree Hill park, it was lunch time. Anca checked out Little Urban, liked what she saw, so we sat down to have lunch; she and Victor the healthy offerings, salmon bagel and avocado toast
while I partook on the sweet stuff.
One Tree Hill park is home to the Maungakiekie volcano, the second highest cone in the city at 182m (there are actually three cones, but the highest of them is where the obelisk is located). The park is of importance to both Māori and Pākehā (New Zealanders of European descent) and has seen signs of activism as recently as 1994 and 2000, when Māori activists cut down trees planted to replace the original tōtara tree that gives the park its name. The park features in the One Tree Hill song, in The Joshua Tree album by U2.
Car traffic to the summit has been closed a few years back and that makes for a very pleasant experience climbing the mountain and its terraces.
The obelisk at the top is also controversial; intended as a memorial to Māori as they “gradually disappeared”, it rather became a symbol of their resilience. So instead of calling it a memorial, Māori seem to prefer it mark the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. In front of the obelisk is the grave of Sir John Logan Campbell – more about him later in the walk.
The views from the top are spectacular: the city of Auckland and all its suburbs extend in all directions. I will let the photos speak for themselves, and for details, check the links in the captions.
From the top we descended on a direct path to Cornwall park. One Tree Hill and Cornwall parks are next to each other, 540 acres public green space in the middle of the city. There are lots of people taking advantage of the space
… as well as sheep, cows, and fairies!
Cornwall park has its own history: the land, 230 acres of it, was donated to New Zealand by Sir John Logan Campbell, who is considered the “Father of Auckland” as he contributed significantly to the early formation and organization of the city. He was one of the early settlers, placing his tent in Auckland in 1840 at the early age of 23. He was a successful businessman and entrepreneur and later (1901) was named honorary mayor of Auckland. I am grateful for Sir John’s gesture, but it is not quite clear to me how was he able to purchase 1000 acres of land, 13 years after living in a tent. The methods by which settlers acquired land from the Māori in the early period are questionable at best. His statue adorns the entrance to the park.
His early house, the Acacia cottage, was relocated within the park and is preserved for visitors.
Melville park is a short walk from Cornwall park. The main attraction here is the croquet fields. Using manual labor, unemployed people during the depression cleared the fields of scoria, boulders, and vegetation and leveled it perfectly for croquet. The fields are impressive and the croquet club has a documented history.
Our next hop is Maungawhau/Mount Eden, which at 196m, is the tallest volcano in the city, offering another round of 360° views.
Even though it did not rain, we still caught a rainbow! By this time, Anca and Victor decided they’ll skip the climb to the summit, go around and take a break. Even if you’ve been before, it is worth going up, the light is always changing and the views are gorgeous.
The air was incredibly clear – no wonder after so much rain. And the golden hour made for some crisp photos.
After Mount Eden we were done with the high peaks, but still had another volcano to go through: the Auckland Domain site is on the remains of the Pukekawa volcano.
One of the largest parks in the city, it is close to downtown and hosts a collection of century-old buildings. The park is home to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, built in 1929, as well as sports and parade fields. The fields, located in the caldera of the volcano tend to flood.
The Wintergardens were constructed for the Auckland Exhibition in 1913-14.
With Rangitoto in the sunset, we walked to Parnell Street for dinner and then home, for a well deserved rest.