Waitakeres

The Waitakeres are fast becoming my favorite weekend trip. Approximately a 45 minute drive from Auckland, they're relatively close but are a world away from "the city". There are also quite possibly millions of different hikes, many of which are pretty challenging, so there's plenty to keep exploring.

We headed out one Saturday morning, and spent about four hours climbing through the forest en route to the top of one of the peaks in the area. Had some great views of both the Tasman (Matt could see Australia) on one side, and Auckland on the other.

Kauri dieback is an issue throughout NZ, but seems particularly significant in the Waitakere range. Dieback is a diesease which kills kauri trees. Kauri forests used to be prevalent in many areas of the country, but much was deforested in the early part of the century. One of the issues plaguing kauri today is dieback, which is some sort of pathogen in dirt that kills the trees. To combat this, there are pump stations with soapy water where you scrape off your shoes and spray them with the water to stop the spread.

Another issue plaguing the Huia portion of the range (pics of this area below) is the feral pig. Halfway through our hike we saw warning signs about both the feral pig problem and the existence of hunters to help end the problem. On our way down, we were certainly on the lookout for them, but alas, no feral pig or feral pig hunters.

View down to Huia

More peaks in the range

View out to Auckland above  - Rangitoto is the in the far background, with the Sky Tower to the left of Rangitoto's peak

Another view down to the Huia side