Make the most of the Coastal Walkway

The Te Ara Manawa Coastal Walkway has been a decade in the making, boasting a 5km, almost flat, looping track that hugs the Hobsonville Point peninsula’s shoreline and then cuts across the township from coast to coast. It’s kid-friendly, dog-friendly (on-leash only) and passes through several neighbourhoods as well as the bustling waterfront at Catalina Bay and peaceful bush-clad gullies.

Volunteers from the Kaipātiki Project have spent 10 years planting native seedlings along the coast, and their efforts continue with an ongoing programme of planting and maintenance. The flat, easy terrain is perfect for runners, and part of the coastal walkway is now the latest addition to the popular Parkrun programme, with dozens of people enjoying a 5km run or walk around a section of the walkway every Saturday at 8am.

Coastal walkway highlights

Harrier Point Park

Climb the stairs at the bottom of Launch Road to find Harrier Point Park with its gorgeous harbour views, flying fox and basket swing for the kids. There’s also picnic tables and barbecues. Soon Harrier Point Park will become home to a giant interactive play sculpture, The Eye of the Bird by artist Philipp Meier, which you’ll be able to climb up inside. The 10-metre-tall pied shag will offer a bird’s-eye view from a viewing platform in its head and a slide that pops out at its tail. Harrier Point Park was formerly the location of the Base Commander’s house (since relocated to the corner of Sunderland and Buckley Avenues).

Te Onekiritea (Bomb Point)

Thirteen perfectly uniform brick buildings tucked away behind tunnels punctuate the perimeter of Te Onekiritea, once the site of New Zealand’s largest Air Force explosives depot. The area is now officially known as Te Onekiritea Point following a Treaty of Waitangi settlement with Te Kawerau a Maki. The name speaks to the area’s history as the site of a kāinga (Maori village) and the source of the white clay, which Māori used for pigments. Te Onekiritea Point is public, open space, complete with a fenced off-leash dog park.

Rifle Range

Bullet holes scattered across the stage backdrop hint at the history of this repurposed rifle range. This facility served as a machine gun range for Air Force personnel, the SAS, Navy and the Diplomatic Protection Squad. The range, which was completed in 1940, was the place where many New Zealand men came to learn about weapons and practice shooting at cardboard targets. The Rifle Range is an amphitheatre for residents and visitors to Hobsonville Point.

Hobsonville Point Park & Playground

Hobsonville Point’s first park straddles Buckley Avenue. The eastern end is home to the Hobsonville Point Park playground, where the kids can clamber up, over and through giant, sculptural seed pods fashioned out of steel. Walk westward from Buckley Avenue toward the coast and you’ll see John Reynolds sculpture, Tiwatiwata, a series of blackened tree trunks marching across the land.

Old Wharf Lookout

Take a small detour off the walkway and be rewarded with harbour views from the Old Wharf Lookout. The lookout is cantilevered over the cliff edge and offers a great view of the harbour. It sits above the site of Hobsonville Point’s old wharf. While the original structure has gone, the approach to the lookout is marked with a row of timber posts, recalling the old jetty’s skeletal form.

- This content was supplied by Urban Development Group