Weekend Walkabouts: Mt Zion (Karekare Regional Park)

Karekare Regional Park, Auckland, NZ

Another Sunday, another weekend day trip to the outskirts of Auckland. Our friends picked us up on Sunday morning (the same friends with whom we hiked in Hunua) and we headed west this time – to Karekare Regional Park. This park is on the beach, and it’s actually just south of Piha. (It’s funny how all of our weekend adventures seem to be interconnected!)

We set out on our hike initially following the Pohutukawa Glade Track from the car park, which eventually meets up with the Zion Hill Track. (I’ve included a picture of the map showing the various routes at the end of the post.) From there, it was a gruelling uphill hike (with great viewpoints along the way!) to the top of Mt Zion. The views look out over the beach that we’d be hiking on in the last part of our loop walk.

We reached a fork in the road where you can choose to extend the hike a bit by joining up with the Zion Ridge & Buck Taylor Tracks, but we chose to stick to our plan staying closer to the edge so we could take in the scenic views from above. The vast beach that we looked down on would also be where we’d end up hiking later. Thank goodness it was low tide when we went!

After we had climbed all that way up, there was no choice but to make our way back down. We ended up back at sea level and took the Pararaha Valley Track to a nearby campsite where we ate lunch. There was another stream crossing on this hike, but luckily we were prepared beforehand and had removed our shoes & socks, so the wet feet were totally intentional this time! The water came up to our knees!

After lunch, we took the Pararaha Valley Track back and then continued along the boardwalks through the swamps & marshes until we ended up beside the giant sand dunes & the beach. From here we followed the red signs for the Hillary Track (a 70km, 4 day hike through the Waiatakere Ranges) which led us along the black sand, and eventually through a tunnel.

We then ended up on the beach (oh boy, that sun was HOT!) where we met up with the Pohutukawa Glade Track which led us back to the car. After a short break to rest our legs, we headed out again, but this time to a nearby waterfall. Karekare Falls were really neat to see – it reminded me of San Ramon Falls on Isla Ometepe in Nicaragua.

After that, it was back to the car for the journey back to Auckland. I love Auckland for a number of reasons, but I especially like how you only need to drive a short distance to be surrounded by such amazing beauty. From beaches & sand dunes, to forests & marshes, the geography surrounding this city has it all!