About the path
A brief nature walk in St Johns Bush that is perfect for a short respite from suburbia. St Johns Bush is a true hidden gem in central Auckland!
Start your bushwalk from Ripon Crescent, St Johns Road or Gowing Drive (on-street parking is available). The gravel and boardwalk path has a few steps, and a bridge over a small stream.
Follow the signs through the reserve. Whichever way you enter, you can exit onto a residential street or walk back the way you came.
The bush reserve is an important ecological sanctuary, with mature and regenerating groves of native trees. More than 160 different species of plants have been identified. How many can you recognise?
The North Island kākā (a native parrot) sometimes stops off in St Johns Bush on the way to the Whangaparāoa Peninsula in the north. Kākā love to eat the berries, seeds and nectar from the mature trees in the bush - as well as resin from the pines.
New Zealand's native giant centipede is common in St Johns Bush. It can easily be 20cm long and is a vicious predator, using its pincers to inject poison into insects, snails and worms. Be careful around rotting logs, leaves and other damp places as the centipedes can give you a nasty pinch if you get too close!
Dogs are welcome on the path but must be kept on-leash.
