July-August 2026

TRIP REPORTS: JULY - AUGUST 2026 Click on images to enlarge.

2 August 2026 - Titirangi and West Lynn Gardens

We started our walk on a cold clear morning at Titirangi Village, just outside Lopdell House, near the statue of local philanthropist and pioneer, Henry Atkinson (1838 – 19210) and heard from Jenny about his contribution to the local area though the
donation of native bush parklands and water catchment areas in the Waitākeres.

Jenny also told us a bit about the history of Titirangi, which was initially home to the Te Kawerau a Maki iwi, who have links to the Tainui migratory waka. The name Titirangi
was chosen by a tohunga (expert) from the iwi - one translation of the name is “hill reaching to the sky”. Another, more romantically, is “fringe of heaven”.

From here we walked down the hill to the Titirangi Soldiers Memorial Church. Built to honour local soldiers who lost their lives in World War I, it is one of only two churches in New Zealand specifically designed as a war memorial. The church was conceived by Emily Bishop, whose two sons were among the fallen, and was intended as a non-denominational tribute to all soldiers, regardless of religious affiliation. Funded entirely through community-led efforts, including fundraising events organized by local women, the church was officially opened on 18 May 1924.

Over the years, the church grounds have been expanded and enhanced, including the addition of a lychgate and bell tower in 1940. Initially shared by Anglican and Presbyterian congregations, the church has continued to serve as a place of worship and remembrance. It was granted Waitākere Heritage status in 1996 and rededicated in 1999 to honour Titirangi residents who lost their lives in later conflicts.

We then walked down to the start of the ZigZag track, where Liz introduced us to the concept of “forest bathing”, known as Shinrin-yoku in Japan, which provides scientifically proven benefits for both physical health and mental well-being, most notably lowering stress hormones, reducing blood pressure, and significantly boosting immune function. She encouraged us to use this opportunity to mindfully engage all five senses - sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste - while immersed in a natural environment.
Jenny also encouraged us to use the opportunity to identify as many of the trees as we could along the way, notably nikau, rimu, and even a few kahikatea (a native coniferous and New Zealand’s tallest tree); we also saw a few bright orange wild ginger plants, known as the “scourge of Titirangi”. It was a fairly long walk, most of it downhill and along well-tended boardwalks, so not too difficult, but unfortunately the cold weather made it quite challenging for a few people, so the flasks of hot kawa kawa tea that Jenny had waiting for us at Titirangi beach were most welcome. This was our stop for morning tea and everyone was glad of the opportunity to warm themlselves in the sunshine.

From here, we split into 2 groups - the larger group of ‘A’ walkers walked over the headland and though the bush to French Bay, while the ‘B’ group stayed on the bus and were driven there, passing Colin McCahon’s house on the way.
The well-known Kiwi artist lived there for seven years from 1953 – 1960, along with his wife and four children.

The two groups met up at French Bay, which looked glorious
in the sunshine.

The bus then took us to the West Lynn Gardens, where we were met by Ruth, one of the volunteers, who gave us some background information about the Gardens. It was established in 1981, and houses various species of vibrant plants, protected heritage trees, and a cherished butterfly house, and is run entirely by a dedicated team of volunteers. The Garden provides a little oasis of tranquility in the middle of a bustling West Auckland suburb, and the group took this opportunity to wander through the space, as well as enjoy our lunch in the sunshine.

After lunch we all took a short walk to the Manawa wetland reserve, which was previously a Gardner Brothers and Parker’s Brickworks clay pit and Crown Lynn reject pottery pit.
Auckland’s wetlands are crucial ecosystems that support native
biodiversity , protect communities from flooding, and filter contaminants from urban and rural runoffs. About 97% of Auckland’s original wetlands have been destroyed, making the protectection and restoration of the remaining highly critical. The Manawa reserve is home to various birds such as the pūkeko, kereru, tui, piwakawaka, and the highly threatened
and secretive Australasian bittern, as well as aqauatic species such as longfin and shortfin eels, and banded kōkopu. Insects like dragonflies, damselflies, and moths also heavily populate the reserve, providing an essential food source for birds and fish.

Fun historical fact – prior to being used as a dump for ceramic waste, the area was the site of a “poudrette” factory – i.e for the drying of manure, nightsoil, offal, blood and other refuse matter, and being situated next to the railway line with no residentail dwellings in the area, no objections were expected to be raised to this. It continued to be used for this purpose till late 1889, when “a raft of freezing companies and abbatoirs set up their own manure works, and supplies of natural guano and chemicals chemicals came in from overseas, fairly well flooding the market.” (From The Auckland Star, 17 January, 1889).

The last walk of the day was at Tiakina Sister Rene Shadbolt Park. This name commemorates the mahi (work) of Sister Rene Shadbolt, the daughter of dissident and litigant Ernest Shadbolt, as well as the Māori nurses who went to war. She started training as a nurse in 1936 and later became Head Sister of the casualty ward of Auckland Hospital. She was politically active all her life, and volunteered as a nurse in the Spanish Civil war. She was later awarded the MBE for her services.

We returned to Auckland around 3.30 p.m, after a rewarding day out in the sunshine, having enjoyed a variety of different environments and experiences, and hopefully having gained some interesting information about these along the way.

A fantastic day "out west"! Special thanks to.......

Team leaders: Liz and Jenny P.
Helpers: Valerie, Ayesha
Text and images: Ayesha, with inputs from Liz and Jenny P.

19 July 2026 - Volcanoes of Auckland

The weather was favorable as we set off on ‘our climb every mountain’ excursion. Our first stop was Mt Richmond, Otahuhu, which when translated in its entirety, means the ridgepole of the Tainui canoe.

Puffing our way up, we paused to take in the views across our city of the industrial, the urban and points of interest like Mangere Bridge. We continued to the top where the remnants of the water tower stand like a sentinel. This maunga has a variety of exotic trees like the Moreton Bay fig and native trees such as the totara. Our personable driver got chatting to a rough sleeper there and it seems this is home to not only flora and fauna.

The next leg of the trip was the Panmure Basin. This contrasted with our first stop, being a tidal estuary with a volcanic crater. The mangroves greeted us as we ambled to the other side where we had morning tea. The seating and public facilities were attractive new additions to this area and as we sat we noticed a solitary white heron at the water’s edge, quite unconcerned at the nearby spectators. Having finished morning tea we herded one and all together for a group photo.

Back on the trail many members had their first crossing of the new bridge with its generous proportions and modern architecture. Light drizzle was making its presence known but it was time for the next maunga.

We journeyed onto Pigeon Mountain, Ohuirangi, This was so named historically because of the presence of kereru. This was our third volcanic cone and on our way we noted the wetlands. Extensive native plantings,33,000 in all, are part of the plan to restore the area and encourage wildlife habitats. The extensive palisades are a nod to the agreement between The Crown and the local tangata whenua. This is the Tamaki Collective, made up of thirteen iwi and hapu. Having reached the top, another breathtaking view awaited us.

We had all worked up quite an appetite and so with this in mind it was on to our last stage. Mt Wellington, Maungarei. We first passed through the Winifred Huggins grassland created in 1969. It has over 100 species of natïve and introduced trees.

It was a steady climb, staggered with everyone walking the track at their own speed. After some huffing and puffing we came out to the view of Stonefields, the old Winstone’s quarry. This was formed by lava flows and eruptions from Maungarei.

Thoughts of lunch were getting more urgent and so we descended to the designated spot. At this point the drizzle became rain. Undeterred we made the best of it and fuelled up.

Meanwhile the bus arrived to collect us and it was onto the other side where the opportunity to climb to the top of Mt Wellington was made. As we laboured our way up ,we were overtaken by several bike enthusiasts who whizzed past us. However, we were all pleased at negotiating the steep incline and again another magnificent view was the reward.

The final feature of this excursion which we passed on the bus was Purchas hill. Very little of the original land form remains but it remains a reminder of an earlier history.

A day full of variety and information - special thanks to: Thelma, Julie, Dot and Debbie

5 July 2026 - Awhitu Regional Park & Lighthouse

It was a glorious day to be out and about in the sunshine. We had two destinations today, the Lighthouse at the Manukau Heads and Awhitu Regional Park.

We were also accompanied by Chris Rabey, who joined us on the walk to celebrate his 50th year of membership, it was a special day as Chris had travelled from Wellington where he now lives.

The drive from Auckland to the Manukau Heads took approximately 90mins and we were treated to some diverse views of Auckland along the way. As we travelled along the ridge of the sand dune at Awhitu, we were treated to views of pa sites and the most spectacular hills and valleys created over the years by effects of the weather off the Tasman Sea. The cows at the bottom of the valleys looked like dots and the trees were bent over from the wind.

As we drove down the road, the lighthouse came into view towering over us on the Manukau Heads. The Heads is the sight of New Zealand worst sea disaster with the loss of 189 lives when the sailing-ship HMS Orpheus grounded on the bar. This accident is what prompted the building of the original light house designed in 1874.

We were able to explore a replica lighthouse and then walk to the southern heads of the peninsula to explore a series of carved wooden pou representing the ancestral whakapapa of local Ngāti Te Ata and Waiohua tribes.

The Awhitu community are working together to redress the damage the land has suffered over the years and the area is now planted out in native plants with many more to follow.

After morning tea we drove out to Awhitu Regional Park on the South West shores of the Manukau Harbour and after a brief stop to get our bearings we followed the path to Brooks Homestead.

The original homestead was built in 1878 and in 1971 the farm was sold to the Auckland Regional Council. Around the home the original planting of kauri, Norfolk pine, macrocarpa and pohutukawa still stand and protect the old homestead.

This park is home to one of the largest and most significant wetlands remaining in the Auckland region. It is a sanctuary for bird spotting, including the fernbird which is revered by the local iwi Ngāti Te Ata, as a kaitiaki (guardian) of the area and has been commemorated in the form of a stunning stone carving.

We had opportunities to observe the interaction of birds and insects in both the wetlands and the saltmarshes before following the path up through the native bush to the lookout at the top of the hill which gave us an overview of the Manukau Harbour and surrounding environments.

On the way back to the bus we stopped to watch the eels coming up to eat the mince we had brought and to check out their private path to transition from one side of the lake to the other.

Our thanks to Dave (the bus driver) who managed the tight corners and slim roads and other people’s bad parking. An impressive feat of driving appreciated by all on the bus.

Also, a special thank you to Anne Knight for helping organise this wonderful trip.

A big thank you to today's leader: John MacLennan - supported by Catherine S and Robyn M
Text: Catherine and Robyn: Photos Robyn and Linda S