Tāmaki Makaurau · Trail 01
The volcanic field beneath the suburbs
Fifty-three cones across the isthmus, and many of them were lived on. This trail takes six, including the one Auckland quarried away for road metal.
- 9 stops
- 4.2 km
- 2 hr 40
- Free
- 6 archival plates
About this walk
The Auckland volcanic field is the reason for the city and the reason for everything that came before it. Cones for settlement, flats for gardens, harbours on both sides for travel.
This trail takes six of them on foot and by short bus hop, reading the terraces and pits on each. It ends at a quarry face, because that is also part of the record.
The route
The Tāmaki isthmus
Orientation — two harbours, one narrow strip, and why it mattered.
Maungawhau / Mount Eden
Terraces, kūmara pits and the tapu crater.
12 min audio
Wāhi tapu. Stay on formed paths; do not enter the crater. No food or drink on the summit.
Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill
The most extensive pā earthworks in the country.
15 min audio
Wāhi tapu. Keep to the formed tracks on the upper slopes.
The quarry face
What road metal took, and the argument that stopped it.
The bond store
Lunch stop, and a port building worth the detour.
5 of 9 stops are written up here; the full route is in the app.