Hunua Falls

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Apr 252012
 

Hunua Falls in the Hunua Ranges

For some reason I have always imagined Hunua as being a great distance from Auckland, so it was with some surprise that I glanced at a map last week and learned that it is just down the motorway. A voyage of discovery ensured.

The Hunua Falls themselves are very nice, and only 100m away from the car park, but the park itself is quite large and the tracks are well maintained.

Panoramic photo of Cossey's Reservior in the Hunua Ranges

We ended up doing a 3 hour loop (Massey/Cossey) that climbed up through native bush to one of the four reservoirs in the Hunua Ranges that supply most of Auckland’s water. The track itself is nothing too special, with only one or two good lookouts, but it is pleasant enough. Being a water supply dam, Cossey’s Reservoir is only viewable from a distance which is probably just as well. I don’t want to know what I am drinking.

Ambury Regional Park

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Apr 122012
 

Some sort of wading bird at Ambury Regional ParkIn my quest to reach new parts of Auckland, I traveled the short distance to the jewel in the glittering crown of Mangere Bridge – Ambury Regional Park.

Parts of this park are a farm which is not very interesting for adults, but there is an excellent foreshore walk that takes in some nice bird sanctuary areas with a lot of wading birds.

Being flat and next to mudflats, Ambury Park is not the most scenic of places (and part of the park consists of the old sewerage settling ponds, now covered in suspiciously lush grass) but it does make for a relaxing walk in the sun passed paddocks of sheep and through small stands of native bush. I am glad I went.
Panoramic photo of the Pukaki Lagoon at Ambury Regional Park(click to enlarge)

Public Access 5 – Art at the Silo 6 Park

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Apr 102012
 

The silos in the Wynyard Quarter have been an enigma to me ever since the park was opened to the public. They stand tall but inaccessible, guarding their secrets…

Art exhibition in the silo at Wynyard Quarter

…until now, because some artists have used the space for a funky collaborative project – Public Access 5. Like all collaborative projects, much of it is rubbish but there are some great things to see. The best works involved video projectors wrapping the strange shapes of the silo internals with writhing images.

It is not a big exhibition so you can easily take it in on your lunch break. If nothing else it is a chance to finally see the interior of the mysterious silos. Now I just wish you could climb to the top.

Public Access 5 runs until Friday the 13th of April, 1012.

White Cloud Worlds at Lopdell House Gallery

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Mar 252012
 

The Lopdell House Gallery in Titirangi is (somewhat bizarrely) showing works by New Zealand fantasy artists, most of whom seem to work for Weta digital.

It is strange experience to walk around a gallery viewing images that would normally be wrapped around a cheap paperback, or printed on a piece of cardboard as part of a game. In fact, at least one of the artists has done work for Magic The Gathering. I know this because they framed a collection of his cards.

All the work is of a high standard but it has that same interchangeable fantasy style that is common in a genre where most of the work is (I assume) commercial commissions. Despite all the art being from this country there is not much recognisably New Zealand in this art. A few images depict Maori legends, but in a very generically stylized fashion. It is not that the images are bad, just uninspired although thankfully, the exhibition is light on scantily clad warrior-babe cliché. Still, it is a bit of a thrill to see full sized images of fantasy scenes in a proper gallery setting.

White Cloud Worlds is at the Lopdell House Gallery until the 15th of April, 2012.

Foo Fighters

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Dec 142011
 

I unexpectedly went to the Foo Fighters concert yesterday.

Panoramic Photo of Auckland Foo Fighter ConcertClick to enlarge

Unexpectedly because I wasn’t planning on going, but a friend had to pull out and I bought her ticket. That was also unexpected, because I don’t really dig the Foo Fighters.

I mean, I think they are OK. Acceptable. Competent. But lacking in that spark that I look for in a rock band.

The weather was not good, it had rained all afternoon and Western Springs Raceway was already soggy when we turned up so we staked a spot on the terraces and watched the support acts. We missed local heroes, Cairo Knife Fight, a band I know nothing about except that bFM name checks them constantly but never actually plays their tracks.

The second support act was Fucked Up – a canadian punk/death metal outfit who should have been terrible but come over very well. The lead singer left the stage and spent most of the set wandering around the crowd hugging people and occasionally drinking their beer between verses.

Next came the highlight of the evening for me – Tenacious D. For a joke band they did a tight set and Jack Black is genuinely funny on stage.

Finally, the Foo Fighters. Although they are not my favorite band, you have to respect a group that are prepared to play for almost 3 hours, even if 20 minutes of that was Dave Grohl nattering to the crowd. They played all their hits (after 17 years they have had quite a few) and seemed pleased to be here. The crowd loved it and even the rain let off to let them play. I can understand why Grohl is so popular, he comes across as a sincere and decent person. In my book that is a strike against him as a rocker, but I seem to be outnumbered.

Despite the rain I had a great time at the Foo Fighters. Not enough to buy their music, but I certainly got my money’s worth.

What I Did on my Holidays – Labour Weekend 2011

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Oct 262011
 

I have lived in Auckland for 14 years and never been further north than Waitangi. A trip north was long overdue.
Looking over the Hokianga Horbour towards the giant dunes
This is the view from Opononi, looking across the mouth of the Hokianga Harbour towards the giant dunes. For $25 you can catch a water taxi to the other side where you can get dropped off with a board perfect for sliding down the steep banks. It sounds painful, but the sand is very soft and you can easily control your speed if not direction.

On a whim, we went to a slightly out-of-the-way shop called Labyrinth Woodworks & Maze (that isn’t a link, it’s a time corridor back to 1996) which turned out to be quite a find. It is a small building filled with the most amazing collection of puzzles and brainteasers I have ever seen, curated by a very passionate puzzle-lover who was only too keen to demonstrate his wares.

A small Japanese Puzzle BoxI have wanted a Japanese Puzzle Box ever since I saw one in a book when I was a child. Now I have one – it takes 10 cunningly concealed steps to open. If I ever go back to Labyrinth Woodworks I will buy the deluxe 21 step box.

Down the road a little way is Waipoua Kauri Forest, home to some very large trees including Tãne Mahuta, which is very, very large indeed.
Tane Mahuta
This is a terrible photo-montage I stitched together using Hugin, it in no way conveys just how big this tree is. I kept expecting a bunch of blue-skinned Navi to show up to defend it.

Sunday night was spent in Doubtless Bay, which was also very nice but not quite as wild and interesting as the west coast. We did take the time to visit Cable Bay, a beautiful beach with pink sand. It is supposed to be packed in Summer, we found it almost deserted (which suited us just fine.)

Gibbons Track, Whatipu

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Mar 232011
 

The days of summer are coming to a belated end, but that is no reason to hang up the walking shoes just yet. This week’s excursion was the Gibbons Track from Whatipu, right at the entrance to Manukua Harbour on the Northern side.
Looking out towards the westGibbons track is not as well formed as some in the Waitakeres and is quite muddy in places – I would hate to have to clamber up the slippery slopes in the rain. Luckily the day we picked was fine and we got some great views out over the Tasman sea.

Rock pool near Pararaha camp siteGibbons track eventually turns into Muir track, which descends quickly (including a very steep bit were you have to climb down a small rock face above a steep drop!) down into the Pararaha Valley from the other side as the Zion Hill Track.

From the Pararaha camping site it is possible to rock-hop off track up the stream. We only went a short distance, but there are some nice rock pools and water falls upstream.

The round-trip back to Whatipu takes you down the valley and through the wetlands to the beach. The wetlands turned out to be a trackless maze, and it is almost impossible to reach the sand without getting your feet muddy. However you will soon dry out on the long walk back around the desolate dunes.

Whatipu is also the start of a short walk to some interesting caves, some quite large. They make a nice change of pace from the burning sun on the black sand.

Inside a cave

Rangitoto Island

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Feb 282011
 

Rangitoto Island, seen from the ferry
It has been many year since I visited Rangitoto – the can’t-miss-it island just outside of Auckland Harbour. With a fine autumnal day off work it seemed like time to return.

Although I had been there a few times before, I am always surprised by the size of Rangitoto – it seems much larger up close than it does from Mission Bay and the distances between landmarks is greater than you might think. Avoiding the tourists boarding the motorised summit explorer, we took the little trod coastal track that leads eastwards towards Motutapu. Trees have grown over much of Rangitoto but there are still large patches of bare volcanic (and shoe destroying) rock. We didn’t see many birds, but there lots of tiny lizards warming themselves on the rocks.

The remains of a shipA brisk 2 and bit hours brought us to Wreck Bay (also called Boulder Bay on some maps), on the far side of the island from the wharf. Here several ship were deliberately run aground to dispose of them. This practice stopped many decades ago, but you can still see the bones of some of these ships lying in the water just off shore.

A little man made out of rocks, halfway up to the summitFrom Wreck Bay we headed for the summit via the service road, a climb of 260 metres that seems harder due to the rocky ground. The top affords great views of Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf is you can see passed the thronging tourists, and the crater is impressively deep – well worth the climb.

But the real highlight of Rangitoto is the collection of lava tubes on the way back to the ferry. There are several tubes, some dozens of metres long. Most caves in New Zealand are carved by water through limestone, lava tubes have quite a different feel to them and the cool subterranean air is a welcome change from the sun blasted rock above ground. I was hoping we might see some cave wetas, but if there are any on Rangitoto they were hiding.
Inside the lava tube, near a collapsed section

Mt Zion Track, Karekare

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Jan 032011
 

Yesterday I continued my exploration of Auckland’s west coast by walking the Mt Zion track which packs quite a varied array of landscapes into a relatively short distance.

Tracks whose titles start with “Mt” always have steep bits, and Mt Zion is no exception. The track rises through native bush with the pay-off being some spectacular lookouts with views out over the wide dunes below.

After about 30 minutes of walking, the climbing ends as the track starts gently descending back into a marshy wetland area. The contrast between the bush covered hills, the reeds of the wetland, and the grey dunes directly abutting is really quite striking.

A short detour took us up the Pararaha stream to an excellent camping site/lunch spot, which was well worth the extra time. What none of the maps will tell you is that you have to ford a calm but surprisingly deep stream to get there – expect to get wet knees.

The trip back to Karekare is no less varied – the track wends its way through marsh and dune, the coolness of the wetlands providing some relief from the burning black sand of the beach. The track passes trough tunnel point (itself a lovely little rest stop) before the final push across the beach back to the car park.

Parau Track (at least some of it)

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Dec 112010
 
Looking west out towards the Manukau Heads

This week’s Waitakare walk is Parua Track, just behind Huia. Parua Track rises through young native forest to reveal… well, nothing much except this nice view of the Manukau Heads.

We didn’t actually do the whole track, preferring to take the loop that took us back to the car park at the Lower Huia Dam (itself worth a quick look via the 5 minute detour near the end).

Karekare

 Places  1 Response »
Nov 232010
 

I had yesterday off work, so I decided to take advantage of the sun and head out to Karekare. I think I prefer Karekare to close-by Piha, the beach is not as good for swimming but the landscape is certainly more interesting.

With only a couple of hours to spare, I decided to check out a short track that promised to take me to a lookout and back in 40 minutes. It is not a well maintained track but 20 minutes of picking my way uphill through the bush found me standing at the top of cliffs overlooking the Karekare waterfall. The view was certainly worth the steep climb.

I still had some time left, so I went for a walk along the spectacular beach. Large cliffs drop straight down onto a wide black-sand expanse. Just around the bay to the south is what seems to be an endless series of low dunes stretching as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately lack of time and proper footwear (that black sand gets HOT!) prevented me from exploring further.

One day I will mount a proper expedition around the cliffs, there is supposed to be a good track that heads south around the bays.

The Wellington Podcast

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Oct 242009
 

Bevan McCabe, raconteur and man-about-town, is producing a podcast about this fair city. The first episode has just been released and it turned out rather well.

There is more information at the associated Wellington Podcast Blog, but the daring amongst you can just downloaded it directly (16Mb mp3), or subscribe to the Wellington Podcast using iTunes.

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