Coast to Coast Walk

On Thursday I was supposed to be testing my newly designed electrodes, but they never arrived in time, so I decided to join my cousin and her friend Melissa on the Coast to Coast walk. The route runs from Manukau Harbour on the west, over to Auckland city on the east. We started out at about 12pm and caught a bus over to Onehunga on the west coast to begin our walk. It was a lovely sunny day, and the views across Manukau Harbour were spectacular.

We started our adventure in suburbia, walking through the streets of Onehunga. The houses were lovely, and it was so peaceful. There were plenty of houses with fruit trees in the garden, and we managed to locate one with a giant tree overhanging the path. Needless to say we had to pick a piece of fruit and give it a try! There was a bit of a debate over what it was, but after we'd all had a taste, we came to the conclusion that it was grapefruit.

After walking through Onehunga we proceeded to One Tree Hill. It is so called because when Auckland was founded, there was one tree near the summit. This tree was cut down soon after but another was planted, and there have been plenty of instances of trees being planted and then chopped down over the years. At the moment there is just an obelisk at the summit, but there are plans to plant a new tree. Apparently there is some debate over what species should be planted, and that is why nothing has been done as yet.

It was a struggle climbing the huge hill, but the views were well worth it. You could see the Sky Tower, Rangitoto Island, and got a brilliant view across the Manukau Harbour. We ate our lunch on top of the Hill, and had a much-needed rest.

After the dizzy heights of One Tree Hill, we walked across town to Mount Eden. It was another huge hill to scale, but after stuffing our faces with sushi on the top of One Tree Hill, we were prepared for the challenge. It was a lot steeper than One Tree Hill, but as we took a very direct route (up a mud path on the side of the hill), it was a lot quicker to climb. Once at the top, we were able to look down into the huge crater, and also across the whole of Auckland. You could see the Harbour Bridge, Sky Tower, Rangitoto Island, and I also managed to get a great pic of Juan stood on top of Mount Eden with Manukau Harbour in the background.

The walk took pretty much the entire day, and I arrived back home at about 1830. It was a lovely day, but positively exhausting. I'm travelling to the Coromandel on Saturday, so expecting another test for the legs and feet!