Views and chews in crater Auckland
Scaling volcanoes can make you hungry, so combine food and views with walks to explore our biggest city’s famed Ta¯maki Maunga, writes Brett Atkinson.
The Auckland isthmus is punctuated by about 50 dormant volcanoes, and Ta¯ maki Makaurau’s unique urban landscape is on the tentative list to be awarded the status of a Unesco World Heritage Site. Since 2014, physical, cultural and spiritual guardianship of 14 of the region’s Tu¯ puna Maunga (ancestral mountains) has been with the Tu¯ puna Maunga o Ta¯ maki Makaurau Authority, a cogovernance group comprising 13 iwi and hapu¯ of Nga¯ Mana Whenua o Ta¯ maki Makaurau (the Ma¯ ori tribes of Auckland).
Here’s how to best experience five of the most important highlights of New Zealand’s ‘‘city of volcanoes’’.
Ma¯ngere Mountain/ Te Pane o Mataoho
Around 70,000 years ago, today’s grassy meadow was the site of one of Auckland’s biggest volcanic eruptions.
Now it’s a serene spot for Ellie Aiono, from the Ma¯ ngere Mountain Education Centre, to share how her Te Wai-o-Hua ancestors lived amid the maunga’s craters and ridges.
As we ascend the dormant volcano’s gentle incline, Aiono’s ko¯ rero brings to life how up to 4000 mana whenua lived on one of Ta¯ maki Makaurau’s most important pa¯ sites.
Almost 80 rua (food storage pits) still punctuate the landscape, while the kai moana bounty of nearby Manukau Harbour included shellfish, eels and stingrays.
With fertile volcanic soils fringing the mountain’s base and steep terrain providing defensive protection, the strategic benefits of the landmark, also known as Te Pane o Mataoho (the forehead of Mataoho, the Ma¯ ori god of earthquakes and volcanoes), are still evident in a new century.
Book in advance for a 90-minute guided hı¯koi with the Ma¯ ngere Mountain Education Centre (mangeremountain.co.nz).
Post-walk treat:
Try the Cambodian noodle soup at Ma¯ ngere Bridge’s Phnom Penh cafe.
Maungawhau/Mt Eden
On top of Auckland’s highest volcanic cone, Maungawhau’s 50-metre-deep crater is known as Te Ipu Kai a Mataoho (the food bowl of Mataoho), and, in past centuries, local iwi placed offerings of food there for the all-powerful god.
Like Ma¯ ngere Mountain, hand-cut terraces and ancient rua storage pits stud the maunga, now protected by the installation of a new, raised boardwalk. From the Te Ipu Ko¯ rero o Maungawhau/Maungawhau Visitor Experience
Centre near Mt Eden Rd, a walking and cycling road continues to the trig station marking Auckland’s highest point at 196 metres.
The city’s dual harbour landscape punctuated by Ta¯ maki Makaurau’s volcanic legacy encompasses 360-degree views, and the boardwalk of hardwood and steel mesh – designed to age slowly and blend in with the terrain – rises and falls to conform to the maunga’s natural undulations.
Views into Mataoho’s food bowl are spectacular, and from a platform on Maungawhau’s northern knoll, the Sky Tower, central city and harbour bridge segue northeast to the distinctive profile of Rangitoto Island.
Post-walk treat:
Combine a coffee and pastel de nata Portuguese egg tart at Olaf’s Artisan Bakery Cafe in Mt Eden village.
Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill’s 3km Cornwall Park Loop became a favourite on my regular strolls during last year’s lockdowns, and the undulating path taking in farmland, olive trees planted by Sir John Logan Campbell, and the occasional rogue pheasant is still a go-to.
Now though, it’s an up-and-down diversion of about 2km to the obelisk on top of the peak also known as Maungakiekie.
On the sinuous road arcing to the tihi (summit) – closed to traffic since 2018 – it’s easy to make out the pa¯ tu¯ a¯ papa (terraces) that made the mountain the region’s largest and most important Ma¯ ori pa¯ site.
From the obelisk bequeathed by Campbell (one of modern Auckland’s founders, who is buried nearby under a simple granite slab), there are sweeping views of the Manukau and Waitemata¯ harbours, Rangitoto’s graceful arc and most of Ta¯ maki Makaurau’s other important maunga.
As Auckland’s second-highest mountain after Maungawhau, it’s easy to see why Maungakiekie was such a prized defensive location.
Post-walk treat:
High Tea at the Cornwall Park Bistro (cornwallparkeateries.com/bistro).
Maungauika/North Head
From the reputed landing of the Tainui waka in nearby Te Hau Kapua (Torpedo Bay) to its recent location as the perfect grassy grandstand to watch the America’s Cup, Devonport’s Maungauika (North Head) has long been an integral part of the region’s history.
Rolling walking tracks arc from the car park part way up the mountain to various echoes of Auckland’s heritage. In 1836, a navigation station was built on North Head to mark the entrance to Waitemata¯ Harbour for the growing colonial settlement of Auckland – echoed in today’s morning sunshine by a tall ship gracefully tacking towards Rangitoto Island – while the impressive 20cm gun of the Saluting Battery was established in 1886 to protect against Russian invasion.
Underground is a network of tunnels and magazines used to store ammunition, and above ground, the present-day view is now of the twin beaches of Torpedo Bay and Cheltenham. To the west, crowning Devonport’s main thoroughfare is Takarunga/Mt Victoria, which was also an important Maori pa¯ site.
Post-walk treat:
Salmon mash with grilled salmon and potato at Corelli’s Cafe in Devonport (corelliscafe.co.nz).
Rangitoto Island
Just 30 minutes by ferry from New Zealand’s biggest city, I’m stepping on to some of the country’s newest land. Rangitoto was only formed about 700 years ago, and the violence of its volcanic origin story is mentioned in Ma¯ ori oral histories.
On neighbouring Motutapu, which is
178 million years old and was used by local iwi for settlements and food cultivation, footprints of an adult, child and dog have been discovered in a 30cm slab of volcanic ash.
Ascending Rangitoto’s forested volcanic cone is best achieved via the Summit Track, a relaxed walk of about one hour, beginning at coastal mangroves and passing through an exposed landscape of lava fields, before continuing more steeply through New Zealand’s biggest po¯ hutukawa forest.
A final series of steps lead to the summit’s viewing platform, where the spectacle on a clear day stretches as far south as the Waikato River and the red-tipped chimneys of the Huntly Power Station.
See fullers.co.nz for ferry timetables.
Post-walk treat:
Icecream made from seasonal fruit from Island Gelato at the Ferry Building (islandgelato.co.nz).