Anawhata Road - Ridge Road Track - Simla Track - Sisam Track - Long Road - Anawhata Road

Date: 12 June 2015
Party: Anna, Elizabeth, Lesley
Map: http://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/trck36182/Simla-Track/
Distance: 11 km? and have we now nearly walked the whole of the Hillary Trail?
Elevation: Plenty
Time: 4 hours and 25 minutes, with a couple of stops
Notes: Some weird and wonderful things:
1. After years of encountering only wildlife and the odd hunter, we encounter an entire film set, with catering vans, four-wheel drives, trucks, generators etc.
2. Our dedicated mycologist decapitates an unusual pale blue fungus, possibly Weraroa. We are shocked.
3. We discover an old University Tramping hut, just off the track. It has some fantastic stolen road signs. 
4. We laugh smugly at the cautionary sign, 'experienced trampers only', then spend the next hour destroying all the muscle fibres in our legs going down Simla swinging from trees and sliding in mud. There are 30 seconds of relief at the bottom of this 'slope' when we cross a small stream which was part of an old kauri dam (you can see the notch in the bank where the beam slotted in) before...
5. We repeat the same going up Sisam.
6. We are twice (twice!) given the call that the car is imminent...only it's not.
7. Not that we are in a hurry to finish, it's just that our legs are. 
8. We see a great range of small birds, and surely the George Clooney of woodpigeons. See below for talent portfolio.
9. We retire to Little Sister Cafe and share a Louise Cake Slice which is Out of this World.

Arataki Visitor Centre - Slip Track - Pipeline Track - Hamilton Track - Nihotupu Dam - Incline Track (!) - Scenic Drive

Date: 29 May 2015
Party: Anna, Elizabeth, Lesley
Map: NZ Tramper; (includes the Summit walk, which we didn't do)
Distance: 17 km; An In and Out track with an unintended loop
Elevation: Not sure
Time: 4.5 hours
Notes: Started the day remembering the value of preparing the night before, as shorts, hat and gloves had vanished. A Friday Special in terms of weather, although it was colder than usual, and we saw plenty of steam rising off the bush and dam as the sun rose higher. Hunters must have been in the area - we saw a couple of pig dogs with gps antenna, and one unexpectedly and silently followed us, only being discovered when he butted the back of my boot! We gave way to him on the track and he calmly trotted off to butt a piggy trotter instead. A pretty walk, with some massive kauri, a wonderful kauri glade, and great views in several directions. Had a muddy slip on Slip track (bloodied knee), and had a slip of another kind when we confused Pipeline and Incline Tracks on the way back, Incline track being appropriately named. It was only as we struggled past a monster kauri that we realised we hadn't seen it on the way in...oops. It was also decided that we need a Paul Henry segment on each of our trips, given one of our party's over-assertive condemnation of him as a dick. The dam was gorgeous - no wind, perfect blue sky, ducks, steam, rushes - a very peaceful place. Due to our unexpected incline up Incline, we had to return to the Arataki Centre via Scenic Drive, which we have discovered is dangerously busier than you might expect - we try and avoid it whenever we can.

Upper Kauri - Smyth Ridge - Wainamu - Long - Cascades car park.

I can't believe we went without Lesley!  But she had a princess to deliver to a ball, so Elizabeth and I stepped out on our own, on a route that was a mix of the familiar and the new.  We managed to cover a section of the Hillary Trail which we had not done before, which is unusual.  I thought we had just about got that wrapped. It took us 3.45 hours,but we were pretty focused.  Up the Heritage walk to Smyth Ridge Track, back along Wainamu, then down the Long Rd Track where we went so horribly wrong with Vivienne. No rain, lots of mud, but we covered the Wainamu Track which is signposted as 2 hours in less than one.  I inadvertently switched the GPS off, so our track record is a bit dodgy.  Elizabeth had a great sandwich; spinach, salami and maybe capsicum? Mine was a couple of defrosted cheese pizza thingies from the middle Eastern place at Pakuranga.   Delicious but not the same level of anticipation.

Huia Dam Car Park - Panto Track - Parau Track - Kakamatua Ridge Track - Farley Track

Date: 24 April 2015
Party: Anna, Elizabeth, Lesley
Map: http://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/trck36729/Kakamatua%20Ridge%20Track/Auckland
Distance: 11km
Elevation: ?
Time:3.75 hours
Notes: Kauri die-back has had a big impact on the tracks we are able to visit in the Waitakeres, and their closure looks set to continue indefinitely, despite there being no real proof that keeping walkers off the tracks makes any difference to the rate of infection. A ranger Elizabeth spoke to a couple of months back also nixed the idea that the infection is spread by pigs rooting around the trees. Spraying our boots has become such a part of our Waitakere experience...it hardly seems like a strange thing to see and do in the middle of the bush. So here is Anna, in her own inimitable way, spraying the soles of her boots in the vain hope that we might not traipse kauri die-back throughout the Waitaks....

We also managed to come across a 'courting couple' (shall-we-say) who had tramped into the bush for quite some distance for a bit of privacy, only to have the three of us nearly spring them. Oops. Off-track next time puhleeze.

Rickers and Rookies

Rangitoto Wharf - Kidney Fern Glen - McKenzie Bay - Summit - Summit Road to Yankee Wharf - Coastal Track - Rangitoto Wharf

Date: February 27, 2015

Party: Anna, Elizabeth, Lesley

Map: http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/auckland/rangitoto-map.pdf

Distance: ?

Elevation:259m

Time: 5 hours, including trip to McKenzie Bay, and Yankee Wharf

Notes: We met up at our usual 8.15am outside E's and were able to take a car and park it in the central city, thinking we had plenty of time to catch the 9.15 ferry. Err, no. The heavy morning traffic meant we arrived in town about 8.50 and had a bit of a dash to boot-up and get to the Ferry Building. Once there, one of our party displayed an extraordinary ability (unknown prior to this trip) of slipping to the front of any queue and quietly finding the best seats on the boat. A trick she repeated on the way back! Talk about missing her calling as a Silent Assassin. Another perfect Friday (I would like to see some stats on Friday's weather), calm sea, and a great view of the Queen Elizabeth passenger liner parked up at the quay as we sailed off across the harbour. There were are least two school groups on board, but given the Silent Assassin's skills, I had no doubt that we would be off and up that hill before any of them so much as shouted for a hair-straightener. And so we were. The kidney fern glen was more of a failed dialysis experiment, with the hot weather having fried them crispy. On to McKenzie Bay, where we briefly considered a swim, but ate morning tea instead. A moored yacht and then a clutch of kayakers entering the bay had us back on our feet and into the dust and heat. It was HOT. We walked mainly on the road, which is not much fun. Before the summit is reached there is a long stretch of boardwalk steps, with a fantastic view from about halfway of Waiheke, Great Barrier, Little Barrier etc. Arriving at the summit, we found almost half of Auckland's schoolchildren sitting there eating their apples and sandwiches, so we did a circuit, took some panoramas of the AMAZING city and island scape at the top, and decided to leg it back down to the other side of the Island. At this stage we became aware of a little gathering cloud. We almost had one of our famous wrong turns, after enjoying a beautiful stretch of 'forest', but managed to self-correct in time to head in the direction of Islington Bay on yet another dusty, hot road. As we sat at Yankee Wharf watching a car ferry board passengers and then leave, the gathering clouds became even darker, and a strange rumbling was heard. A plane? Thunder? We ate our lunch, decided we would not be in time for the 2.30 ferry, and set off past the barrier (what was that for?) along the scoria track. The clouds darkened, and the thunder became persistent. A few drops fell. Raincoats were unrolled. A gentle shower of rain fell. We could see that the clouds meant business somewhere, but not here. Anna's notes suggested that there would be a half hour of scoria track and an hour in the 'forest'. On we went over the scoria, passing the lava fields. We saw a saddleback and a parrot, but 'forest' was a stretch. Part of the track must be slightly under water at high tide (luckily avoided), and the 'swimming pool' had water in it, although was not very tempting. We walked past the remaining old baches which are totally charming, and back to the 'tourist shelter' (which is huge), and the wharf. Elizabeth had a chat with an Iwi member who gave her all the goss on Rangitoto, and we split a celebratory beer on board the ferry home after the SA found us primo seats. An interesting trip, with stunning views at the top, but best attempted in cooler weather. And there had been a deluge of Biblical proportions in Auckland. A few wet Jafas.


*Forgot to mention the poppies! More info here. We each popped on a poppy.

Queen Elizabeth

Silent Assassin and friend

Crater behind the 2 lovelies

Spot the Harbour Bridge

Yankee Wharf

Swimming Pool

Browns Island

Glen Esk Car Park - Kitekite Falls - Connect Track - Winstone Track - Kauri Grove Track - Marguerite Track - Home Track - Car Park

Date: 20 February 2015
Party: Anna, Elizabeth, Lesley
Map: 

Distance: 8.2 km
Elevation: Not much
Time: 3h and 10min dawdle (still getting back into it)
Notes: Anna was feeling uninspired this week (what with the house on the market and rubbishtruck drivers to contend with) so we redid this walk of ages ago. It's a pleasant enough walk, especially at the start where there are lots of kauri (apparently the only vegetation not cleared off the land at one stage) and the Kitekite falls, but is pretty much a rugged, canopied bush walk without stunning views. Still, not too many streams to cross, only a bit of mud, and a couple of ok spots for a snack. Not too much up, and not too much down. We adjourned to Elevation, a restaurant we have driven past many times before and thought we would try this time round. Don't be tempted. The view from the balcony is brilliant, but your wedding deserves so much more.

Piha - Pararaha Valley - Via the Swamp - Along the Beach

Date: February 13, 2015
Party: Anna, Elizabeth, Lesley
Map:
Distance:
Elevation:
Time:
Notes: One of our favourite walks, as it includes the Pararaha Valley, The Swamp AND a tunnel, but I swear that walk through the sand was not there last time.