Auckland Baptist Tramping Club 2001 A glorious warm early summer afternoon brought out 16 people - to visit one of the North Shore’s newest reserves,  Fort Takapuna at Narrow Neck. This had been military land up till a couple of years ago, being an important clifftop site for defending the Waitemata Harbour and Auckland city from enemy warships in the World Wars and the Russian threat towards the end of the 19th century. We left The Bracken soon after 1:30pm and drove to the carpark at the south end of Narrow Neck Beach, where we met up with some people from the North Shore. Our leader Geoff gave a short introductory talk about the Fort Takapuna reserve before we wandered onto it and had a look at all the buildings that remain. The first building we saw was the Officers Mess, the dining and recreation area of the military officers, now complete empty and locked up. We then moved on to the main fort, a large brick building set in a pit so that its roof was at the level of the surrounding ground. This was built in 1886-89, at the same time that other fortifications were being built at North Head, Bastion Point and Point Resolution (where the Parnell Baths are now), and served as the barracks. Fort Takapuna was the original military title for the fortification; it has also been known as Fort Cautley, Narrow Neck and HMNZS Tamaki. We could walk down into the pit and walk around the front and sides of the building and try and peep into its tiny windows, but the doors were locked. In 1926-27 the fort was used by the navy to store its ammunition; a concrete “slide” at the southeastern corner of the building was part of a tramline to move the ammunition around. When the navy moved its munitions store to Kauri Point in 1937, there were 172 tons of ammunition in the building. We had a look at the nearby observation posts before moving on to the old gun battery. Three white concrete structures were part of the 4-inch Examination Battery, established in 1938 to control the anchorage where ships entering the harbour were inspected. From there we went on to the entrance of the old underground engine room, dating back to 1899. A steam engine and dynamo were used to power searchlights which were used up till the end of World War II. Afterwards we walked along Vauxhall Rd and dropped down on to Cheltenham Beach via Bath St, while the drivers fetched their cars to take them around to the south end of Cheltenham. The tide was in and the invitingness of the water was enhanced by a number of people aleady in swimming, as we walked the length of the beach to its southern end at the start of North Head. We climbed the steps up onto North Head Reserve to sit down and enjoy the view - and watch a hang-gliding enthusiast hover almost directly above us. From there we returned down the steps to meet the cars at the end of Cheltenham Rd about 4pm. COST: $2