| Auckland Baptist Tramping Club |
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EDEN ENHANCER Mt Eden Sun 11 April |
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| For a fullsize picture click on the thumbnail |
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Twelve people discovered some of the secrets of Auckland’s highest isthmus volcanic cone and its surrounds
on a nice warm April afternoon. Starting from The Bracken, we walked along Gillies Ave. and into Withiel Drive for our first surprise - the Withiel Thomas Reserve, a patch of native bush. But not many people know there is a nice track through the bush, simply because it isn’t signposted. The unique feature of this area of bush was the jagged rocky terrain of the Mt. Eden lava flow. Our next point of interest was the Government house and its extensive grounds, once the mansion of Sir Frank Mappin. We could not go into the grounds, but skirted them as we turned into Glenfell Place. We climbed a long flight of steps to come out onto the Mount Eden summit drive, which we followed down to the top of the Clive Road access, which for many years provided motor vehicle access from east of Mt. Eden. Over-use of this access simply as a shortcut caused the council to permanently close this to motor vehicles by planting trees at either end. We crossed a paddock (Mt Eden Domain is leased out for grazing cattle) near the caretaker’s house and descended a flight of stone steps to the Normanby Road children’s playground. Near the start of a flying fox some children were playing on was a rough track - we followed this around the perimeter above Mt Eden Rd to come out at Tahaki Reserve. This was once a rubbish tip, but has since been converted to an amphitheatre park which is used for various free outdoor concerts. As we came out of Takahi Reserve and into Hillside Cres. Christine joined us - she had to go to work that morning and was unable to make the start of the tramp. We climbed the zigzag steps which separates the two parts of Hillside Cres., then came the real grunt - up through the reserve to the Summit Road near the crater of Mt Eden. John, Richard, Christine, Jessica and Jonathan went down into the crater while the rest walked around it to the summit. We all stopped at the summit for our afternoon tea break. The weather was perfect for enjoying the panoramic view of the Auckland isthmus, especially south and east to the Manukau Heads, One Tree Hill and the eastern suburbs. The Coromandel Peninsula was clearly visible on the eastern skyline. Afterwards we dropped down to Owens Rd and into Nicholson Park. We walked past the bowling club and saw many white-clad people enjoying their bowls. The path alongside the tennis courts was like going through a narrow cutting - a high stone wall on our right, and the very tall fence of the tennis courts on our left. After crossing Poronui St we passed the disused and graffiti-decorated Kitchener Scout Den - the Kitchener Scout Troop had disbanded many years ago. We went down past the lower playing field and up some steps into Normal Intermediate School. The school had changed a lot since the 1960’s - the old brick building which held the office, library, staff room and classrooms had been demolished and replaced by modern buildings. The “murder house” still remains, as does the woodwork/metalwork block - the woodwork room still serves its original purpose. The hall still remains - it is home to the ACS monthly dances. Our educational sector of the tramp finished with a walk through the adjoining Auckland College of Education, past its swimming pool and through the Kohia Terrace School, which in the 1950’s was run on the lines of a country school (Model Country School) as part of the programme for trainee teachers. A short walk along Gillies Ave brought us back to The Bracken. |
