At 10am I was just finishing the bottling of my latest batch of home brew when Michelle and Brian arrived as previously planned. “So where are we tramping?” I asked, quickly packing my gear. Dome valley was suggested, but it is a long long way away, we didn’t have an early start, and on the way back we’d probably hit heavy traffic returning from the long weekend. We wanted a tramp we hadn’t done before, nearby, and preferably in a loop. The top part of Parau track, joining on to Nihotupu Ridge track and with a return via Sumitt-Hamilton tracks and the Lower Nihotupu Dam Rd met these requirements. Parau carpark is 24mins drive from my place. We’d done the lower part of the Parau track from near Cornwalis, but not this top part.

The tramp passes through some splendid mature forest with some largish kauri trees, nikau and punga ferns, some views, and an optional shortcut on top of one of Auckland’s water supply pipes.

Not sure if it is really permitted to return via Lower Nihotupu Dam Rd. On the map it is marked “Private Road pedestrian access only” which seemed fine, but where we came out was signposted “Do not enter”. (That’s ok because we were exiting not entering) Looking at the map closer, it may just be the portion of the road from Hamilton track to Pipeline track which is open for walking. There is another note on the map “No public access” after that. Though we didn’t see any signs there.

The National Party proposal to nationalize Auckland’s Waitakere Ranges Regional Park into a National Park seems to have been quietly dropped. It’s hard to see DoC being given the resources the ARC puts towards maintaining this jewel of Auckland. Good thing it’s not a National Park (speaking of jewels) as they are under a threat of being ripped up for mining under the current government.

Moore photos