Starts at Panmure Station, Mt Wellington
Maungarei / Mt Wellington is one of the youngest volcanoes in Tāmaki Makaurau, having been active only 10,000 years ago. Maungarei / Mt Wellington has a near circular base and three overlapping craters, with one now mostly filled by a water reservoir. Lava flows mostly headed towards Ellerslie and Penrose and one flow helped form the wetlands that lie in nearby Waiatarua Reserve.
Maungarei means 'the watchful mountain' and the mountain is an impressive archaeological site with its flanks formerly covered by terraced house sites and food-storage pits. The crest of the craters have extensive Māori earthworks.
The Mt Wellington Quarry that sits to the west of the maunga (mountain) was New Zealand’s largest aggregate quarry but it was closed in 2008 and is now the site of the Stonefields subdivision.
Ownership of Maungarei / Mt Wellington was returned to mana whenua as part of a 2014 Te Tiriti o Waitangi redress and is managed by the Tūpuna Maunga Authority.
You can access the path by catching a train or bus to the Panmure Station and taking a short walk up Mountain Road to the base of the maunga.
You can access the maunga from:
There are public toilets adjacent to the Mountain Road entrance.
Head up the sealed path which is now closed to vehicles. There are some steep sections along the walk and series of steps to get to the tihi (summit).
The path around the crater is made of dirt and loose stones, so be careful where you tread. The path takes about an hour to complete.
At the tihi, you’ll be rewarded with breathtaking views over the Tāmaki Estuary, Panmure Basin, Rangitoto Island and the Stonefields residential development.
If you follow the old road down the western slopes you can extend your walk by accessing the 4km Stonefields Path off Gollan Road.
