Lake Pupuke - Pupukemoana

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

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/

Cure For Kids - Long Bay Beach

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 Coastal Track - Long Bay

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