Waitākere Ranges and Piha · short arc

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Murrays Bay

   Murrays Bay is one of the East Coast Bays on Auckland's North Shore, a sheltered crescent of sand between rocky headlands, with a wharf, a sailing club and big pōhutukawa trees leaning over the beach. In December these trees burst into crimson flower, which is why New Zealanders call the pōhutukawa their Christmas tree. Out across the Hauraki Gulf, the symmetrical cone of Rangitoto Island, Auckland's youngest volcano, sits on the horizon, and on a calm morning the water is glassy and pale.

   Read the complete Murrays Bay write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Waitākere Ranges and Piha is where the day begins. Next is Auckland / New Zealand return.

2. 2. Near Wellsford, on the way back

   West of Wellsford, the land falls away towards the Kaipara Harbour, the largest harbour in New Zealand, a vast, shallow, branching body of water that reaches deep into the farmland of Northland. Its eastern arms creep up into quiet valleys, and this stop is near one of them, a place to pause on the way back south, stretch out in the grass and cool off in the water when the tide is in.

   Read the complete Near Wellsford, on the way back write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Auckland / New Zealand return comes up about 68 km into the recorded legs. Next is Waitākere Ranges and Piha food stop.

3. 3. Rosebank

   Rosebank is not where anyone goes for the view. It is a light industrial peninsula on the western side of Auckland, between the suburb of Avondale and the Whau River, a place of factories, warehouses, workshops and car dealers, with a single long road running down the middle. But it has a surprising history, and it is a practical, unpretentious place to start a ride into the Waitākere Ranges.

   Read the complete Rosebank write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   A break here. Next is Photo stop near Waiuku.

4. 4. Photo stop near Waiuku

   Waiuku sits at the head of a long, muddy arm of the Manukau Harbour, south-west of Auckland, and for centuries it was a crossroads. Māori travellers hauled canoes across the short portage between the Manukau and the Waikato River here, linking the harbours of the north with the great river system of the interior, and early European traders used the same route. Today it is a quiet country town serving farms in the surrounding hills, with a main street of shops and cafés and an easy, unhurried rhythm.

   Read the complete Photo stop near Waiuku write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Photo stop near Waiuku, about halfway. Next is Waitākere Ranges and Piha checkpoint 8.

5. 5. Near Mangere

   This stop looks out from the northern edge of the Manukau Harbour, the vast, shallow inlet that almost cuts Auckland in two, looking across the water to Māngere and its volcanic cone. Auckland is built on a field of some fifty small volcanoes, and you can see several of them from here: Māngere Mountain across the harbour, the terraced slopes of One Tree Hill to the north-east, and others dotted around the suburbs. Many were fortified pā sites in pre-European times, and their terraces and food storage pits are still visible on the grass.

   Read the complete Near Mangere write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Finish at Waitākere Ranges and Piha checkpoint 8. That is the ride. Next is High point near Papakura.

6. 6. High point near Papakura

   East of Papakura, the land climbs into the Hunua Ranges, the largest stretch of native forest close to Auckland and the source of much of the city's drinking water. Reservoirs fill the valleys behind tall dams, and the forest around them, of tawa, kauri, rimu and tree ferns, is home to birds such as the kōkako, whose haunting song was once almost silenced and is now recovering thanks to pest control. The ranges are a regional park, laced with walking tracks.

   Read the complete High point near Papakura write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   High point near Papakura is the summit of this stretch. Next is Scenic stretch near Pakuranga.

7. 7. Scenic stretch near Pakuranga

   Planning note

   Scenic stretch near Pakuranga closes the day.