Okura Walkway

NEARBY CITY: Auckland (approx. 30 mins drive from downtown)

EXACT LOCATION: End of Haigh Access Road off East Coast Road just north of Okura Estuary (use Oteha Valley Rd off-ramp from Northern motorway) – see map

ROUTE DISTANCE: 12kms return

ASCENT/DESCENT: 440m of each

TIME TO RUN: 1hr 15mins (Elite) to 2hrs 30mins (Novice)

TYPE OF TRAIL RUN: Out & back

DIFFICULTY: Easy-Moderate

DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS: A mix of well-formed & rough single-track. Bush, beach & a creek crossing.

POINTS OF INTEREST: The historic Dacre Cottage in Karepiro Bay is worth a look.

ONLINE REFERENCE: See Garmin Connect

BEST MAP/S: Download the simple PDF map from the DOC website – it’s all you’ll need.

RUN IT: For the first couple of kms the track is well formed, having been recently upgraded. After crossing a bridge across a feeder creek to the Okura Estuary it climbs about 85m through beautiful nikau groves, pohutakawa and regenerating coastal kauri forest.

After cresting this first hill the track gets progressively rougher as it undulates its way through bush along the Okura River estuary and edge of the Long Bay – Okura Marine Reserve, finally dropping down a series of 110 steps to reach Karepiro Bay and historic Dacre Cottage (4.8 kms in).

From here you can follow the coastline at low tide, or cross the shallow creek and take the overland track, climbing steeply above the coastal cliffs, with good views of Karepiro Bay and the Hauraki Gulf, before dropping back to the Weiti River estuary and the turnaround point (6 kms).

Follow your nose back the way it came to return to the start.

POST RUN GOODNESS: There are no watering holes at either end of the track but you have the choice of hundreds of cafes dotted all over the North Shore suburbs not too far away.

To view this Guide as a downloadable PDF file click here

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.