My Favourite Walk: Along the walkway at Macandrew Bay
The day dawns clear with a dose of crispy fresh air which stings your face and brings colour to your cheeks. Where to walk on such a morning?
Not a problem if you live on the Otago Peninsula. Since 2019 the Dunedin City Council and the New Zealand Transport Authority have been building an extension to the walkway/cycleway which leads into the city from Macandrew Bay.
Twelve months on it will be possible to walk all the way from the city to see the Albatross at Harington Point.
This is my walk of choice on a frosty morning. Safe from the traffic with wonderful scenes along the harbour to enjoy, I head off; well wrapped up with my winter gear. Fortunately, I also took my camera, so I have a few photos to share.
Today the sun is low in the sky and the water simmers in the frosty light.
I set off from Marion Street intending to walk to the Cove which is about an eight kilometre return walk but I could continue to walk into the city or stop off at the Vauxhall Boat Club and catch a bus home. That is part of the appeal of this walk, you can leave your car anywhere along the way and walk as far as the spirit moves you.
The pathway is level so ideal for wheelchairs and walkers, prams, and folk with walking sticks can also enjoy an outing at their pace.
The walkway was a godsend during lockdown as it is a broad pathway, ideal for social distancing, and already asphalted most of the way around the water’s edge.
It is suitable for all forms of recreation, so you do have to share with cyclists, skateboarders, skaters and the like. Picturesque boat sheds line the walkway and provide another resting place for the Stewart Island Gulls and seagulls that frequent to harbour.
It is low tide as I walk so, I scan the shore for wildlife. The pathway leads along the edge of the harbour which makes it easy to look for sea life.
Yesterday it was a high tide and a sea lion accompanied me along part of the walk, another day it was the seagulls kicking up a frenzy over the krill washed up on the shore.
Sea lions are an impressive sight as they glide through the water, a black hump arising out of the water at regular intervals expelling a lungful of air each time it surfaces.
Some way along the walkway a significant tree has been retained to allow the gulls to roost on their traditional home. The landscaping is underway here to make this a pleasant stopping place.
The path leads onwards towards a new pedestrian bridge specially built so walkers can observe the original stone walls built by unemployed labour after the Great Depression.
The new wall has been built some metres out from the original by newly trained artisans trained in building rock walls. This is a great place to stop and look towards the city. A winter haze has an interesting effect on the
sunlight.
Walking further towards the city you arrive at the distinctive white gate at Stoneleigh. This was the site of the tollgate collection point. The keeper lived here and everyone who ventured down the peninsula would need to pay up in order to proceed further along the rudimentary track.
From here the walkway takes you to Challis Point with a small collection of houses. During lockdown you could spy a few favourite teddy bears peering out from the windows.
By now you are in sight of the Cove which is my destination for the day. Work is continuing at pace here by the Fulton and Hogan crew. This section has been a major construction task, heavens knows how much soil, construction fill and loads of rock have been trucked in to build up the road surface and create the walkway running around the foot of the road.
Landscaping promises an attractive stopover for lunch in the future but not today!
My trek home follows the same pathway, but the scenery changes and your gaze take in the hills of the Otago Peninsula, the views across the harbour to Port Chalmers, Mount Cargill and the small settlements dotting the road towards Portobello.
I enjoy this walk anytime of the day or night. The views are stunning at any time, calm days provide spectacular reflections, and fellow walkers are a friendly lot. It is safe and well lit and at night the lights of the harbour are a bonus.
Visitors to the city could continue their journey from here to the beaches of Allen’s Beach, the Albatross Colony or visit the township of Portobello for lunch. The Peninsula offers other opportunities for walking so next time you visit Dunedin pack your walking shoes and enjoy our back door.