Friday – Coast to coast in 16km

As we headed down to Viaduct Harbour for the start of our big walk the weather was looking promising with clear blue skies and a crisp cool fresh air…Ben later commented that this was his best weather day of the trip so far!

We browsed around Princes Wharf which housed some of the America Cup Yachts, and ducked into the New Zealand 2011 Rugby World Cup store.

We started the walk on the marked trail at 10am, and headed along Quay Street before turning to start the climb up our first hill…did we mention that Auckland is built on 50 extinct volcanoes…and that meant it was a very hilly City! 

We walked through the Auckland University campus (and felt like a student again!), and then through the Domain, a huge park which used to be one of Auckland’s 50 famous volcanoes.  In which there was the impressive Greek-like building that housed the Auckland museum.  From there we started our steep climb up Mount Eden (Maungawhau volcano)…Tracy if you still want to go up there is also a road to the top!

The views from the top were amazing, and as we were lucky enough to have a clear day Ben applied his computer mastery to do the below 180 degree panoramic shot.

At 196 metres it is Auckland’s highest volcano, and had an impressive 50 metre deep crater to stare down into.

We also discovered from the compass at the top, that we were the furthest point we had been from home…a mere 18339kms away…every step now is closer to the UK!

The walk then took us through the suburbs and onwards to the 3rd climb of the day…One Tree Hill, which used to be a key ‘Pa’ for the Maori, and was the greatest fortress of the country, before in later years becoming a track on ‘The Joshua Tree’ – that's where you’ve heard the name, U2 fans !! 

At the top of the 182 metre summit was the grave of John Logan Campbell (who used to own the land), and a obelisk and statue dedicated to the Maori which Campbell had requested to be built in their honour.

As the end of the walk approached we could see the Manukau Harbour in sight, and felt happy to see the finish line.

A short bus journey back to the City, and we retired for the day with a hot shower and TV.