24 people turned up on a balmy late winter afternoon for an informative walk around the coast from Takapuna
to Milford, returning along the shores of Lake Pupuke.
We left The Bracken at 1:30pm and met at
the north end of Takapuna Beach, where leader Phillip gave a short talk about the history and geology
of the area before we set off.
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As we walked along the rocky coastline northwards we took time to look at the fossilised forest.
Lake Pupuke was once a volcano, and its lava flow buried an area of forest. Trees such as kauri, nikau
and tree ferns were enveloped by the molten lava, subsequently forming pipes and tunnels in the lava
rock.
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Lake Pupuke drains to the sea via an underground stream. A little further on we could see the fresh
water from the lake come out as cold springs on the rocky foreshore.
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Thorne Bay is a secluded little beach of sand along the rocky coast.
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The Giant’s Chair dating back to the 1920s made a good photo stop. We could see part of Algie’s Castle,
a house built to resemble a castle. The house was on the market, having been owned by the Algie family
since it was built in the mid-1920s.
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In contrast, we saw the Mirror House further on. This private residence was designed in 1984 using
mirror cladding that not only strikes the eye but also provides much-appreciated extra sunshine into
the Firth Cottage next door.
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The rocky coast gave way to the sands of Milford Beach, which on a fine winter’s day (like many of
Auckland’s beaches) brings out children to play with toy buckets and spades, and grown-ups to walk away
their week’s worries.
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We turned inland along Milford Rd and crossed over to Sylvan Park and a new walkway that runs along
a small part of the Lake Pupuke foreshore.
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Further along, we were lucky to be able to walk the track between Sylvan Park and Henderson Park;
it is closed from the beginning of September to the end of December each year to allow birds to breed
in peace.
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We came out on Hurstmere Rd and could see Algie’s Castle once more - the property was being refurbished
ready for sale. We also paused to see the Hurstmere homestead, built in 1860 for William Hurst, who owned
nearly all the land around Lake Pupuke.
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We were back at the Takapuna Beach car park at 4:30pm, and after icecreams at the nearby shop we
were back at The Bracken at 5pm - just as the well-known Warbirds DC3 sightseeing plane we saw flying
overhead as we approached Lake Pupuke happened to fly over The Bracken, a fitting end to an interesting
and informative afternoon.
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