Auckland - New Zealand - page 118

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
HILLARY TRAIL
My family grew up loving Auckland's wild west coast, where the Tasman Sea
pounds the black-sand beaches and black-back gulls ride the westerlies. Our fam-
ily has walked and explored and lived out here for nearly a century and this is also
where we came to grieve after my mother and sister were killed in 1975, where the
invigorating salty air and the marvellous wild vistas to the Tasman Sea worked like
a balm for our broken hearts. My father would come here to dream up and then
prepare for new expeditionary challenges. It seemed the right sort of environment
for someone like him: not a passive coastline, but active and exciting, with huge
cliffs, crashing waves, thick bush and a tantalising far-away horizon.
Peter Hillary,
Mountaineer & Explorer
TOP OF CHAPTER
Waitakere Ranges
This 160-sq-km wilderness was covered in kauri until the mid-19th century, when log-
ging claimed most of the giant trees. A few stands of ancient kauri and other mature nat-
ives survive amid the dense bush of the regenerating rainforest, which is now protected
inside the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. Bordered to the west by wildly beautiful
beaches on the Tasman Sea, the park's rugged terrain makes an excellent day trip from
Auckland.
Sights & Activities
Arataki VISITORS CENTRE
( 09-817 0077; www.arc.govt.nz ; Scenic Dr; 9am-5pm) As well as providing inform-
ation on the 250km of trails within the park, this impressive centre also features Maori
carvings and spectacular views. The carvings at the entrance depict the ancestors of the
Kawerau iwi . You can also book here for several basic campsites (adult/child $6/4) with-
in the park. A 1.6km nature trail opposite the centre leads visitors past labelled native
species, including mature kauri.
Hillary Trail & Other Tracks TRAMPING