Karamatura Falls - Tramping around Auckland

The Karamatura Falls are located in the Huia Regional Park which is about an hour's drive from Auckland.

About Huia and the only Huia Store:
"Huia - Just like Hawai but only cooler"
Huia is a quaint suburb in Western Auckland. It has just one store - The Huia Store - which serves up delicious food and also serves as a general store. It celebrates its 130th anniversary this year(2016). The store is a must visit - it retains an old world charm. It has a small corner where books are up for sale. We had a cauliflower and broccoli salad as a pre-hike snack. They have salads in portions of 8$, 12$ and 16$.
A regular coffee is 4$ and a large costs 5$.

The ultra cute Huia Store

Location:
Search for 1320 Huia Road, Huia. This leads to the Huia Hall. Opposite the hall, there are two roads leading to the right - one to the Ranger's Office and another is an unsealed road. Get onto the unsealed road and drive to the car park.


Time to get there : 
An hour from Auckland by car.


What to wear :
Sturdy boots as the track can be quite muddy and slippery in some places.
Most of the walk is inside the forest so it can get cold depending on the time of the year so carry a layer of warmth.


Things to carry :
* Sufficient Drinking Water
* Lunch and snacks
* Garbage bag - you must carry away all your rubbish
* Swimming costume and towel


Karamatura Falls:
Type of falls : Horsetail

The Karamatura Falls

Karamatura Loop Track and diversion to the falls:

At the start of the track, there are camping grounds.

Go past the camping ground and follow the Karamatura Loop Track. This track is supposed to take 1hour return. I recommend doing this track in an anti-clockwise pattern cause otherwise you would end up tiring yourself climbing up the wooden steps.

In the first couple of minutes, you come across remnants of the timber milling days. After about 20 minutes of walking, you come across a sign which directs you to the left to follow the Karamatura Loop Track. Ignore this and head on straight a couple of meters and follow the next sign to the Karamatura Track. This will be the diversion to the falls. Follow along this track until the next sign post which takes you to the falls. A small stream crossing is required but is easy with lots of stones to step on.

Once at the falls, one could also get down into the water and then get onto the huge stone to finish some reading and packed lunch.

On the way, there are plenty of places to get down to test the water and for photos or a relaxing read. 

Return via the same route to the Karamatura track and then complete the Karamatura Loop Track which is mostly downhill and easy. 

The whole walk took us about 90 minutes with about a 20 minute break to dip our feet in the water.

View from Huia Point

Other things to do in the area:
* Visit the Huia Dam
* Twin Peaks Track - gets you to the highest peak
* Lower Huia Dam Road - 1 hour return - one to do when the lake is overflowing (possibly after the rainy winter)
* Mt Donald McLean Walk - 30 minute return - on a clear day, can view Mt Taranaki
* Whatipu Caves - 50 minutes return

Summer walks in Auckland - Te Ara Tahuna Walkway

I dragged my feet, the 1.5kms, to work on Friday. I wanted to get used to the routine again. The holidays had just fled past and now are like a good dream. This weekend now seems like just any other weekend at the end of a working week.

We were to meet up with friends and acquaintances over the weekend but I was too much into my book to care. I wonder how it is that I never read "Gone with the wind" earlier. It was in too much demand at the library. In spite of its length, I related with Scarlett O'Hara in so many ways. I just had to finish the book before work started off. And not to mention the assignments from the science of cooking course.

No concrete plans were made for the weekend with the impending rain. But the gray skies and cool winds beckoned to me and I worded the wish to go for a long walk. The husband immediately took to it and I was thrilled that I would be sitting at some scenic spot and reading my book.

The NZ Herald had recently published an article on summer walks in Auckland and how could I not choose the one near Orewa beach, the beach I had fallen in love with on our way back after our trip North. We had some methi peas parathas from breakfast which we packed for lunch. So in an hour we were out the door.

The Te Ara Tahuna Walkway is shared by cyclists and pedestrians. One must stick to their left and try to give the cyclists way. It is a loop track that goes round the Orewa estuary which is surrounded with multi million dollar houses. So, basically we went on a walk through the backyards of millionaires and beyond. It is about 5.5kms of walking through people's backyards on cemented paths with a bit of unsealed road. The best part is the remaining 2 kms where one walks through fields and a bit of forest. It is amazing to find the forest, in the middle of nowhere to be teeming with bird life. We spotted so many of the birds on the ground. Binoculars and a guide to the birds in Auckland are on my to buy list. The walkway is lined with view points overlooking the estuary and each point has a wooden seat which has some of the best wooden engravings. The path is not very well marked as all other tracks that we have taken. We did lose our way but thanks to the GPS signal and the network, we were back on the track easily. It is easy to get lost considering you are walking through a web of backyards.

 Little Fox Eats

 Pain Au Raisin

 My reading spot

Apart from the forest stretch, stopping for a short snack at the Little Fox Eats truck and at a small grassy patch to read my book were the highlights for me. The Pain Au Raisin that is made in France, snap frozen and sent over was delicious and filling. Ice blocks in different flavours can be tried when the sun is not beating down upon you, else you may find yourself standing with just the stick in your hand.

A short get together with friends at the Orewa beach with a game of cricket ended the day on a sweet note. All in all, a walk that should really be a bicycle ride.