This walkway offers sandy beaches that lead to panoramic viewpoints, green sports fields that give way to wide stretches of estuary, and intimate nature reserves, contrasting with cow-studded country pastures.
7.5km
3 to 4 hours
Suitable for all ages and fitness levels
The walk starts at St Heliers Bay and finishes at Point England.
This walk takes you from the charming village and pōhutukawa-fringed beach of St Heliers to the rolling farmland of Churchill Park.
If you have time, divert your walk down a short pathway to sheltered Ladies Bay, a pleasant sand and shell beach that is renowned for its quietude across Auckland.
For many years a long wooden jetty stretched out into the bay. At low tide, the remains of the wooden piles can still be seen at the end of St Heliers Bay Road.
Further along is Achilles Point, which commemorates the 1939 battle of the River Plate where the New Zealand-crewed ship Achilles engaged with other allied vessels to defeat legendary German cruiser Graf Spee.
The view from the headland stretches from Auckland city in the west to the distant peaks of Coromandel Peninsula in the east.
Rangitoto Island lies just across the water. This is the most recent and the largest of Auckland's volcanoes, emerging from the sea just 600 to 700 years ago in a series of fiery explosions. Rangitoto is now a reserve with the largest remaining pōhutukawa forest in New Zealand.
As you stroll down Glover Park you are entering the crater of an ancient volcano. Also known as Whakahumu, the St Heliers volcano erupted about 50,000 years ago. The crater used to be a shallow lake but it was drained and filled in the 1950s to form sports fields.
This walk starts at one of the largest reserves in the eastern area.
It offers a mixed personality, from a manicured urban park to a wild country farm – 40ha complete with grazing cattle.
The park hosts an astonishing variety of birds as you will see and hear as you move through. Most noticeable is the harsh shriek of the pūkeko.
If you wish to do a side excursion to Karaka Bay, turn left at the first track intersection and climb up to the pine trees. At low tide it is possible to walk along the silt and rock foreshore from Karaka Bay to the Glendowie Boating Club (which takes around half an hour).
The small hill at the end of the Churchill Park track will reveal a view across to the Tāmaki Estuary and the Half Moon Bay Marina.
In the view to the west two volcanic cones can be seen, one behind the other. The volcanic cone in the distance is Maungarei / Mt Wellington, which also served as a major defended pā.
From Point England continue along grassy riverside parks to Panmure Boating Club and follow Kings Road, Riverview Road, Queens Road and Bridge Street to busy Lagoon Drive. Cross at lights and pick up walk track around Panmure Basin.
45 minutes
45 minutes to 1 hour
From Point England, cut across sports fields to pick up the concrete path alongside Omaru Creek.
Follow the creek up stream through a number of urban reserves and climb up through horse paddocks to St Johns Road on the ridgeline.
Walk back to St Heliers in another 30 minutes by taking St Heliers Road to the right and following it to the beach.
