Karangahake Mountain Track - Dobbo 96 Track - Crown Track - Karangahake Windows Walk

Date: 9 May 2014
Party: Anna, Elizabeth, Lesley
Map: http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/waikato/karangahake-gorge-brochure.pdf
Distance: 16 km
Elevation: 500ish?
Time: 4 hours 50
Notes: Spectacular mushrooms and lichen, particularly Fly Agaric on the first part of the track. Very steep climb, with some peeks of the view between the gorse bushes! Perfect weather, until it wasn't...we could hear the thunder and had time to get our raincoats on just as it started to hail in large chunks, then to pour down. We had a very soggy descent, amazed by how quickly the water collected and started coming down the track (and into our boots). Awesome 180m tunnel, complete with glow-worms and limestone sediment - opening out into an area with a large pool and waterfall (this can also be accessed from Dickey Flat Track). On the Windows Walk part of the track we passed through the remnants of the Talisman and Crown mining operations. Strange to see pieces of machinery still in the hills, and pieces of metal in the river. The schematic of the mines was fascinating, especially as so much of it remains visible. We took the route to the carpark via the tunnels, which were quite creepy, but at least had windows out to the river view below. Coffee and cake at the Talisman Cafe, which has a homely atmosphere and nice coffee. (Despite what you might read in Trip Advisor!)

Shakespear Park - Te Haruhi Bay - Tiri Tiri Track - Heritage Trail - Lookout Track

Date: 27 April, 2014
Party: Anna, Lesley, Tony
Map: http://regionalparks.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/shakespear
Distance: 9.5 km
Elevation:
Time: Approx 2 hours
Notes: A beautiful day for it! Loved the pest-free entrance gate/fencing, which has really had a dramatic impact on the number of birds in this park. Parked at Te Haruhi Bay car park, then did our usual trick of missing the start of the Tiri Tiri track, and having to backtrack a little to get the views on that side of the peninsula. (Must remember rule number 1 about being especially vigilant at the start of each track!!) Fabulous views of the islands in the Gulf, especially Tiri Tiri. From the lookout, we headed down to the Heritage Trail - a surprisingly shady and lush section of track with a small stream - back to the main carpark, and around back up the Heritage Trail to a junction with Lookout Track, and from there back to the car. Refreshments afterwards at the Local Cafe in Manly (http://www.localcafe.co.nz/) - delicious.

Mt Auckland

Date: 11 April 2014
Party: Anna, Elizabeth, Lesley
Map: http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/auckland/north-auckland/mount-auckland-atuanui-walkway/
Distance: 7 km
Elevation: 300m
Time: 3 hours, just cruising
Notes: A nice walk, without being fantastic. Nikau and Taraire specimens; cows; mushrooms; and a neatly plaited flax-leaf close to the summit lookout. Best Toetoe (Austroderia) glade we have seen for a very long time.

Goldie - Mokoroa Revisited

Date: 28 March 2014
Party: Anna, Elizabeth, Lesley
Map:
Distance:
Elevation:
Time:

Last time we did this walk, we were a little bit cavalier with the orange markers and, ending up on the wrong side of the stream, had to perform a tricky manoeuvre around a rock/waterfall combo. THIS time we were Experienced Trampers, and paid more attention! This is the first walk we have had, too, in which full immersion of the boots for a lengthy period was required. Quite...refreshing? A lovely walk, just perfect after the Routeburn.

Greenstone Track - Routeburn Track

Date: 18 March - 24 March
Party: Anna, Lesley, Elizabeth, Peter, Jane, Margaret, Mark, Debra, James
Map: https://www.ultimatehikes.co.nz/en/guided-walks/the-grand-traverse
Distance: 75k
Elevation: 1600 at Conical Hill
Time: 6 days, 5 nights
Notes: Perfect awesomeness

Karamatura - Fletcher - Donald McLean - Mt Donald McLean - Karamatura

Date: 28 February 2014
Party: Anna, Elizabeth, Lesley
Map:
Distance: 11 kms
Elevation:
Time: 3.75 hours
Notes:

Ian Wells Track - Cutty Grass Track

January 31, 2014.   Our first outing for the year.

Party:  Lesley, Elizabeth and Anna

Route:  Ian Wells Track and Cutty Grass Track
Time: 3 hrs 15.min

Time constraints put the kibosh on more ambitious plans and so we did one of the tracks written about in Bob Harvey's 1998 book Untamed Coast. [Yes, it has taken me a while to get around to it, which means there is a risk of unforeseen change over the last 15 years]  The traffic roaring down the road to Piha completely put us off doing a loop that would involve road walking and so we went out and back, past the Nihotupu Auxilliary Dam and along the very beautiful and atmospheric Ian Wells Track.  The incline is very gradual and so although you cover a reasonable distance it is not too arduous.  At the junction with Cutty Grass Track it was a toss up whether to go left or right.  We chose the Anawhata direction purely because we had driven via Scenic Drive and it felt as though it might offer something different.  Cutty Grass Track is pleasant but unspectacular, a wide clay track running beneath a line of power poles.

Attention to large round, red track markers on the Ian Wells Track reassured us we were on the right path, hard to miss, even though the track was labelled "Experienced trampers only".  Who could possibly ever veer off the track? Cough, cough.


Owing to some confusion about which West Auckland roads lead where, we ended up, unintentionally, at Falls Cafe in Henderson for a post walk coffee and carrot cake.  A pretty and pleasant spot to relax but not particularly remarkable for food or coffee.