UNDER THE BRIDGE: From left, John Spiller, Allan Riley and Jim Duckworth try out the extension to the Mangemangeroa Rotary Walkway. Times photo Bruce Nicholson

• Howick and Pakuranga Times

ACCESS to an iconic estuary valley has been increased with the completion of a walkway extension.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown will officially open the route in the Mangemangeroa Valley on March 17. It leads from the existing Rotary Loop, which runs below Somerville Road, under the Mangemangeroa Bridge on Whitford Road, to Hayley Lane off Point View Drive.

The trail development, made possible by Auckland Council and a number of private landowners, will result in a further stretch of the valley reserve being opened to the public.

Long-standing resident Jim Duckworth remembers playing in the estuary valley in the 1950s.

“When we came on to the property [in Whitford Road] in 1948, we were among the few people who ever went down there,” he says.

“We used to paddle up and down the creek on an old aeroplane float. It was a real adventure for young kids, just brilliant.

“There were 13 baches at the mouth of the estuary with no road access, just a track from where Pohutukawa Avenue is now.

“We used to play with the kids who lived there and others who lived at the end of Broomfields Road on the other side. We all went to Howick District High School.”

Extending the Rotary Walkway further up the valley was made possible after the Duckworth family gifted about 1.5 acres along the 20-metre creek mark at the bottom of their property, allowing the pathway to reach the bridge.

When the former Manukau City Council bought land on the other side of Whitford Road, the extension to Hayley Lane Reserve was made possible.

Howick Local Board has allocated $590,000 in 2012-2017 for another extension. It’s envisaged the walkway will eventually link with Point View Reserve, Barry Curtis Park and Murphys Bush.

John Spiller, one of the local board’s natural environment and heritage portfolio leaders, says the plans are part of the city’s green corridor concept, providing connections between reserves and green belts.

“Our view is to create an extension to link to Point View Reserve and possibly eventually coast to coast. The concept could even extend in the other direction out to the Hunuas.

“This is also a migratory corridor for birds. About 50 different paddock, bush and estuarine species have been identified.”

Chairman of the Friends of Mangemangeroa Society, Allan Riley, and Mr Duckworth, who are Howick Rotary Club members on the society’s committee, say large numbers of people are using the existing Rotary Loop Walkway, including many new immigrants “who just love it”.

“A lot of people use it for regular walking,” Mr Riley says. “Those going on great outdoor trips in the South Island come here for fitness training, while families jog through here.”

The track extension is about two kilometres long, but they say there has been no definitive answer to how long the walk is including the loop.

Mr Spiller says the local board is pleased to support further development of the walkway.