I had just bought new trail running shoes and I was eager to try them out. “Where should I go? Somewhere, where there is a bush, as it seems to be a hot day. I need a trail, rather than concrete. This trail shouldn’t be too long nor too steep. It shouldn’t be too far away and preferably there should not be too many people there. If it is close to a beach, so I could go for a swim afterwards, that would be a bonus.” What a demanding runner 🙂
I found exactly what I was looking for! Okura Bush Walkway ticked all the boxes and is up to date still my favourite bush walk / trail run spot in Auckland. It offers a walk / run through a bush, across paddocks and on a beach. It has slight inclines but nothing impossible. The views are amazing – over the Okura river estuary, from the cliffs over the ocean and across a farmland. The trail is 8 km long one way (which adds up to 16 if you run all the way to the end and only then realise that you need to run all the way back where you have parked a car 🙂 ) and it is only about 30 km north of the city centre. The trail is accessible from the south (Haigh Access Rd) or from the north end (Stillwater), where there are really nice camping facilities. On the day I was there, there were a few other walkers and runners, but far from anything what I would call “annoyingly busy”.
Okura Bush Walkway is at the northern end of Long Bay. There is actually a trail that goes from Okura to Long Bay, but I chose to drive around (16 km was long enough to do it on feet). Long Bay is the most northern of Auckland’s east coast bays and is adjacent to Long Bay – Okura Marine Reserve. It is one of my favourite “swimming” beaches in Auckland, although it offers much more than that. Are you into sunbathing on a white sand beach? Kayaking? Maybe tiny-waves-surfing? Stand-up-paddle-boarding? How about snorkeling? The bay and the beach are very popular among Aucklanders as they guarantee you a nice day on a beach.
Auckland : Inside Out 