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Date: Sunday, 31 May 2026 Starting Point: Anchor Bay car park, Tāwharanui Regional Park (end of Takatu Road) Distance: ~16.5 km Elevation Gain: ~400 m Duration: ~5.5–6 hours walking (back at cars by 3:30–4:00 pm) Difficulty: Moderate (2.5/5 — coastal undulations, exposed ridgelines, suitable for anyone with general fitness)

Event Description
Eighty kilometres north of Auckland, a slim finger of greywacke pushes east into the Hauraki Gulf, ringed by a 2.5 km predator-proof fence that has, since 2004, turned 588 hectares of farmland, forest, and coast into one of New Zealand's quietest miracles. This is Tāwharanui — open sanctuary, marine reserve, and the closest thing to predator-free New Zealand that an Aucklander can walk into without taking a boat. We're going to spend a Sunday circling its entire peninsula on foot — and stepping into its forested heart along the way.

The plan: a full loop along the South Coast Track, out to Takatū Point, back via the North Coast Track and Anchor Bay, with a deliberate detour through the Ecology Trail — the bush-and-wetland heart of the sanctuary, where the birdlife is densest. The southern half climbs above sheep-grazed pasture with views across to Kawau Island close enough to count the windows on the houses. On a clear day Aotea / Great Barrier, Hauturu-o-Toi / Little Barrier, and the Coromandel Peninsula all line the horizon. Out at Takatū Point — the eastern tip of the peninsula — manuka and kanuka give way to dramatic cliff-top viewpoints with rocky spires breaking the surf below, and pōhutukawa trees shading the path. The return drops into bush where the absence of predators is audible: takahē, tīeke (saddleback), korimako (bellbird), tūī, kererū, North Island robin, and whitehead all live here in numbers most Aucklanders only encounter on offshore islands. Along the Ecology Trail you'll wind through regenerating native forest, past old pūriri and rimu, and across a wetland gully where 60,000 trees have been planted by volunteers over the past three years. We finish along Anchor Bay's long white-sand beach, where a swim is genuinely on the table even in late autumn for the brave.
This is a moderate, beautifully varied walk. There are climbs, but nothing brutal. There's almost no shade on the coastal sections, but on a cool May day that's an advantage rather than a problem. After several months of harder events, this one is for everyone — bring your friends, bring anyone who's been hesitant to join the group, bring the slower walkers. The pace will be relaxed enough that nobody gets dropped.
We'll meet at 9:00 am at the Anchor Bay car park. The car park is about 1 hr 15 min from Auckland CBD via Warkworth and Matakana, with a final gravel section approaching the park. Tāwharanui operates a gated system — the gates open from 6 am, so we'll have no issue arriving for our start.

What to Bring
Gear

  • Sturdy walking shoes or light hiking boots (some uneven coastal terrain, possible mud in the Ecology Trail bush section)
  • Layers (it can be windy and exposed on the headlands; warmer in the bush)
  • Light rain jacket
  • Hat and sunglasses (no shade on most of the coastal sections)
  • Sunscreen — yes, even in May
  • Swimwear and towel if you fancy a post-walk dip at Anchor Bay
  • Binoculars if you have them — the Ecology Trail and Takatū Point are excellent for birdwatching

Food and Hydration

  • At least 2 litres of water
  • Lunch and snacks — we'll stop at a viewpoint along the way
  • No water fountains on the trail itself (one at the car park)

Important Notes

  • Your safety is your responsibility.
  • Need a ride? Comment below! A $25 ($20 if more than 2 passengers) contribution to your driver is suggested.
  • Tāwharanui is a wildlife sanctuary. Stay on marked tracks, take any rubbish with you, and use the boot-cleaning station on the Ecology Trail to help protect against kauri dieback.
  • Meetup Contribution: A small $2 contribution helps cover Meetup fees and equipment costs. Transfer to Wakahi.com Limited acct number 02-0200-0260173-000.

After the hard hikes we've been clocking, this is the one to bring everyone along on — a walk through a landscape that shows what New Zealand looks like when you let it heal. See you at Anchor Bay.

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