Eleven woppers rocked up to Little Shoal Bay on a glorious morning which for most of us was an explore in our own backyard.  A warm welcome back also to those woppers we havn't seen for awhile. The plan for this walk was to explore a number of local reserves - Onepoto Domain, Tuff Crater, Smiths & Le Roys Bush & Dudding & Kauri Glen Reserve.

After admiring the infamous yellow digger stuck in Little Shoal Bay mud we headed up the hill towards Onepoto Basin. We came across a sign"Caution Tree Roots" which was begging for a photo stop. We had to giggle over that so say no more! At Onepoto Basin a lot of families out enjoying the weather & a lot of model boat racing. Next up Tuff Crater or (Tank Farm) Maori name is Te Kopua o  Matakamokamo"the basin of Matakamokamo" one of Auckland's 50 volcanoes. Geologists estimate last erupted about 200,000 years ago. Tuff is the material around the basin, soft porous rock. The crater sheltered location was highly valued by Maori with its fertile soils, abundant marine life & they were still there in the 19th century. Tank Farm so called as in WW11 extensive excavations were done on the northern rim to build large fuel tanks. However only the concrete bases built leaving nine swampy tank sites. Several pics attached of view points over the crater & looking to Auckland City. Note the vapour trail.  The track around is a mixture of boardwalk & shingle path. Forest & Bird have been running a restoration project in this area since 2000 with the help of many volunteers.

Next up Smith's Bush & Elizabeth our leader took us into the bush a back way by way of a bit of bush bashing. Just to liven things up a little! Saved some road walking as a bridge access was closed due to storm damage.

Smith's Bush is located behind Onewa Domain just off Northcote Road. It has loop paths on elevated boardwalks to protect the foliage with groves of giant Puriri, Kahikatea & Totara. This bush has been here for many years & there was an outcry when stands of native bush were felled to make way for construction of the northern motorway & access to Auckland Harbour Bridge 1950-1959.  We chuckled also at the Smith's Bush sign still shows North Shore City Council so quite old! We enjoyed lunch within the bush amongst towering Puriri trees.

Continuing on our exploration we retraced thru part of Tuff Crater up several roads then into Dudding Ave Reserve, A short but very pleasant bush walk.  This reserve was closed in 2017 due to a slip but reopened this year with new entrance signs, upgraded track, boardwalk & steps (pics attached). Next up Kauri Glen Reserve which has recently reopened & has new paths, boardwalks & an impressive viewing platform. Then over Onewa Road to Le Roys Bush but sadly closed due to track work so we continued further down Onewa Road & accessed the lower part of the bush off Valley Road which led us back to Little Shoal Bay getting back by 3pm. A great day which was getting quite hot by the afternoon & Elizabeth you did well to keep the road walking to a minimum. Apparently we covered 15-16 kms so good walk.

A big thank you to Elizabeth for an interesting & different day out.

Colleen

Click here to see photos by Colleen