I was very much looking forward to “walking home” as I moved to Auckland over a year ago, and the trail winds its way through Aotearoa’s largest city.
Auckland has a relatively small CBD (Central Business District) with plenty of high-rise buildings, the iconic Sky Tower, and some hustling and bustling shopping streets. But what is actually remarkable about Auckland is its expansion beyond the CBD, that is primarily single-family homes in Victorian-style houses and the typical bungalow style you’ll find all over New Zealand’s towns. All in all we probably walked approximately 100 km to make it through greater Auckland on Te Araroa, leading us along the many bays and beaches in the posh north of the city where mansions overlook the sea from their prime cliff top locations. Whether these properties will survive the next big flood and collapse of the cliffs (like it happened in January 2023 after heavy downpours for days) is uncertain.
The further south we got, the more the city’s face changed: houses got smaller, front yards tinier, and generally, the suburbs looked more run down. But then, a surprise: approaching the industrial area around the international airport in the south, the trail turned to the west. It suddenly led through a nature reserve that serves as a stop for migratory birds. Later, the trail turned east again, towards the outer areas of the city, and suddenly brought us through an area, where the road was blocked off, two big Māori guys with two German shepherd dogs sitting around a smoldering fire in the middle of the junction, a couple of Māori flags blow in the wind. We felt a little weird and out of place, but after a smile and a friendly “Kia Ora” we kept going.
This section through Auckland was attractive as I got to walk the city I live in now, which I already like so much. It shows different faces along these many kilometers of the trail. We experienced many amazing stretches of coastline and beautiful beaches and witnessed the vastness of the metropolitan area. But overall, all the friendly encounters with its inhabitants were particularly impressive: people approached us and asked us about the trail, and people in their cars slowed down, waved, and yelled “Welcome to New Zealand”. All of the support made it way less weird to walk as hiker trash through the biggest city in the country.
