14 WOPpers rocked up to Milford beach eager for a walk around the coast. Because of the type of walk, coastal rock hopping etc the trip snip won't be so much about the tracks but the awesome sights we saw! Again the day promised to be a pearler but hot, not as much of a sea breeze as expected. but another good day for photography as the cloud lifted. 

We headed off along Milford beach & picked our way around the rocks admiring the unusual volcanic formations & Takapuna Reef Fossil Forest. This particular area has some of the best examples in the world of a forest killed & fossilised by a passing lava flow. After picking our way over the rocky coast we enjoyed morning tea in the shade at the boat ramp end of Takapuna beach. As the tide was still too far in it was decided not to navigate the rocks at the far end of Takapuna, so it was up Clifton Road, thru Wilson Home grounds, the gardens looking very dry at present which is to be expected considering the dry conditions. Along the cliff top by Takapuna Grammer grounds & down a steep stairway opposite Westwell Road Belmont to the coast again (see pics).  

Walking around this coast to Narrow Neck the cliffs very crumbly & alot of erosion. At one area it was easier to walk thru the water so despite getting our boots soaked, very cooling on our feet! Some chose to scramble over the rocks. Lunch was at Narrow Neck reserve with awesome views of boats out in the Gulf. Seemed to be some gathering of larger boats. I thought I saw Team NZ in the distance & certainly Luna Rossa Prada Parelli came skimming past (some pics attached). Not many people around so very pleasant. 

After lunch we cut up thru the grounds of Fort Takapuna Historic Reserve then on down to Cheltenham beach. Walking around the streets we were able to admire the beautiful stately homes both old & new plus of course the spectacular homes on the coast. By now it was getting pretty hot & we agreed to leave out North Head, also because a number of the walking tracks there are closed due to slips & general maintenance. 

So, we head first to Mt Cambria Domain then up some steep steps onto Mt Victoria. Mt Victoria traditionally known as Takarunga  "the hill standing above" & Mt Cambria Takararo "the hill standing below". The scoria cones of the 2 were formed by fire fountaining of frothy gas rich lava about 20,000 years ago. Sadly Mt Cambria has disappeared due to a century of quarrying & of course Mt Victoria has the signal station sited there in 1841 for the Port of Auckland. My grandfather who worked for the then Auckland Harbour Board for a number of years was a signalman on Mt Victoria from 1923 to 1931. So we clambered up steps to the summit to enjoy the stunning views, we had the perfect day for it, see the panoramic pics of the area. Thanks to Renate for showing us various shortcuts thru Cheltenham/Devonport area & the shady shortcut track back down Mt Victoria.

We scurried back to the wharf to enjoy a cool drink or icecream before boarding our bus at 2.45pm to Takapuna then another bus to Milford. The drama or excitement of the day was when a huge crowd of Takapuna Grammer kids pushed & shoved their way onto the bus & totally overcrowded it. The noise was deafening! Virtually no masks & when a passenger questioned one of the groups about this was met with a barrage of abuse. Some of the WOPpers who witnessed this plan to complain to the school about the behaviour. So after our eventful & noisy bus ride it was nice to finish off with a quiet walk back along part of Milford beach to our waiting cars arriving just before 4pm. We covered approx 11kms today. 

A big thanks Linda & to everyone for making it an enjoyable day out. 

Colleen W. 

To view the photos from Colleen, click here