Walk and meeting Newton Reserve, Sunday 5 July 1pm

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This week we have an event that combines a coastal walk with a public meeting about proposed changes to the walkway between Little Oneroa and Newton Road. You may be aware that the Friends of Newton Reserve, in partnership with Auckland City, have been working on weed control and forest restoration in the Newton Reserve valley. Some great progress has been made here and we will have a look at this area with representatives of the Friends. This year there is SLIPS funding available to implement some improvements to the coastal walkway that connects Little Oneroa with Newton Road and local consultants Ivan Kitson and Jan Ramp have drawn up proposals for these improvements. Anyone who interested in this area is invited to come and walk through the area with us and attend a brief meeting afterwards where the proposals and options will be discussed in detail. The walk will start at 1.30pm at the Little Oneroa carpark and will take approx 1.5 hrs. Then we will wander over to the Old Blackpool School Hall and look at the proposals (approx 3pm). This is an opportunity for neighbours, anyone with an interest in walkways on the island and the general public to have input in the development of a great coastal route close to Oneroa.

Te Haahi Goodwin Reserve, 7 June, 1.30pm

Meet at the Ostend (Belgium Street carpark) at 1pm to carpool to the old pioneer cemetry along Orapiu Road. We will take a 2 hour walk through this remote 35 ha Forest & Bird reserve. There are no formed tracks in this reserve, just routes, so good footwear and a reasonable level of fitness are required. We will see the site of the first school on Waiheke, a mostly weed-free regenerating forest with stunning mosses and fungi on the forest floor, some lovely groves of kauri, nikau and other more rare trees, and a kauri slide close to Orapiu Road.


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Blackpool ramble, Sunday 15 June 3pm

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This is an exploration of Blackpool Beach and some of its possibly lesser known walkways and connections. We'll start at the end of Tui Street, cross the stream and head East along the beach. At the end of the esplanade we climb the new track up to Makora Avenue, walk all along its lovely bush clad contour, and take some shortcuts back to the Blackpool Flats. Then we will continue on to Te Huruhi reserve which has its own public loop track around the Pony club area. This walk should be quite easy, it will take about 1.5 hr.

Te Whau Coastal walk, Sunday 8 June, 3pm

This Sunday we are going to do a beautiful coastal walk to the tip of Te Whau peninsula. This walk will take a bit of time and there is quite a distance to cover, but it is arguably one of the best walks on the island.
We'll meet at the same place we gathered for our Rocky Bay walk: at the beginning of Te Whau Drive. See the map below. After descending down to the bay, we will head west to follow the coastline all the way to Te Whau Point. This walk meanders around headlands and empty bays, and joins the road via a steep track up the hill. Allow up to 3 hours for this walk.


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Forest & Bird Sunday Walk 25-5-8

You are invited to join us for a walk on Sunday the 25th May. Meet at the Owhanake Bay carpark at the end of Korora Road for a wetland, coastal track and regenerating forest exploration. A bit of everything, with some interesting surprises along the way.


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The walk will take about 2 hours and is moderate / easy with a few steep climbs. All welcome, join us at your own risk.
More information: phone Janet Hunt 372 2450 or Jan Ramp 372 8992.