Keen walker David Mallowes offers suggestions about fun and interesting routes people can take to get some exercise and enjoy the area in his latest column.
Cockle Bay is a popular white sand, safe-swimming, pohutukawa-tree-lined beach with good facilities and a superb playground.
Volunteers have been very busy for five years planting native shrubs and trees along three significant walkways behind the beach and these make for an excellent family walk.
The same volunteers organised a ‘Discovery Day’ recently to encourage families to explore the area.
Along their 2.2km walking loop you’ll find wooden plinths with signage recounting interesting historical events.
For a route map annotated with the locations of these, follow the QR code on this page or visit www.facebook.com/walksouteastauckland.
The walk: A path leads from behind Windross Restaurant following a stream up through native bush.
Choose the left fork up to Pah Road. At the top, turn left and a short distance to the end of Pah Road, another track leads back to the beach.
Explore under the large pohutukawa on the sand to your right, then continue back along the beach to the playground.
Cross the stream to the Tainui steps, but instead of going up, turn left and follow along the stream to Pah Road.
Turn left along Pah Road, then right up Churchill Road, and first left into John Gill Road.
Almost immediately on your left head down the path through the Cockle Bay Domain.
Veer left after the bridge, then turn right as you exit back to Pah Road
Progress a little way uphill, left into Seaview Terrace and at the turnaround find the path back to the start.
Still energised? At the beach at low tide you can follow the coastline to the right to Mangemangeroa Walkway, or left to Howick Beach and Mellons Bay Beach (2km more of well-maintained walkways at the back of the car park which I and our team work on!).
Changing rooms, toilets and showers – on the Cockle Bay beachfront.
Pushchairs – yes, some hills but good paths and tracks.
Like to walk with others? Visit the meetup.com website, search for walking or hiking in the Auckland area.
A friendly group that welcomes new walkers and walks for three to four hours at a moderate speed is Intrepid Auckland Walking Adventures. There are many others.
QR code link: www.alltrails.com/explore/map/cockle-bay-discovery-walk-c57168a
