Waitakere Ranges Hike - 20kms

Postponed until August. Entries will reopen at the end of July.

This is a 20km+ hike. It could be as much as 22kms.
The meeting point is at Pae o Te Rangi Regional Park entrance. It is at the intersection of Te Henga Road and Bethells Road. This walk is in the Waitakere Ranges - West Auckland.
The first three kms is across farmland. If this section is closed, then we will walk down Bethells Road, and up Long road. This will stretch the walk to 22-23kms.
The Pae o Te Rangi section links up to Long Road. From Long Road, we walk up to where the bush part starts proper, and we get into the Waitakere Ranges. Once we get onto Long Road the track is well gravelled.
The Long Road track then connects to the Fence Line Track which will take us along side the Waitakere Reservoir. This is a long, long uphill climb. From where the cars are parked it is a five + km uphill walk.
As we pass the reservoir, we then head downhill to the Auckland City Walk which is were we normally start the walks from. All the altitude gained is lost in this section.
Following the Auckland city walk, we then head back onto the Upper Kauri Track. At this point we begin the uphill climb to reclaim all the altitude we lost. It will definitely be a hard slog, as it is a long steep climb.

Upper Kauri links up to the Long Road Track, at which point it will be a long down hill trudge back to the cars.
As this is a five hour walk bring food and water. This is going to be a five hour walk. We will stop by the dam for lunch. In order to achieve the walk, we will be setting a steady constant pace. A high degree of fitness is required.

If it is looking like a wet day, we will postpone until the Saturday. A message will be sent out Thursday night (7pm), to confirm that the walk is going or postponed. Message reply that you have received and understood. If you do not get the message, contact me to confirm (027-368-7266).

Please be at the starting point by 8.45am. We will start walking at 9am sharp. Phone reception may be limited, so we will assume its a no show.