Coastline walk from Eastern Beach to Howick Beach

Keen walker David Mallowes offers suggestions about fun and interesting routes people can take to get some exercise and enjoy the area in his latest column.

This walk offers great views of the Waitemata, mostly sheltered from south-west winds, and very few people around.

It’s 5km one way including 1.8km along Eastern Beach. The coastline from Eastern Beach to Mellons Bay to Howick Beach features a couple of headlands with some low tide rock-hopping, otherwise reasonably easy at low tide.

Check the MetService for low-tide times and tide heights.

Ten minutes of careful rock-hopping around the southern point of Eastern Beach leads to an easy walk along the cliffs below Macleans Park and Bleakhouse Road.

Mellons Bay is a great little beach, mostly well away from the road, popular for exercising dogs early and late in the day.

Detour to the back of the car park and there’s a beautiful well maintained and wide 1.6km walkway following a stream through a kauri grove and native bush to Cheriton Road and on to Haseler Crescent.

From there the path narrows a little through the McLeay Reserve and continues up to Montressor Place and beyond.

Volunteers have been working hard in these reserves for five years to eradicate invasive trees and weeds and planting over 5000 natives.

The coastline from Mellons Bay to Howick includes a few minutes of fairly easy rock-hopping, 10 minutes crossing a hard surface flat reef.

Approaching Howick Beach, there’s another five minutes of quite easy rock-hopping.

Roads from Howick to Eastern Beach are set back from and follow the coast, beautiful views from Marine Parade, return to Mellons Bay, up Page Point then down through Macleans Park back to the start.

Footwear – highly recommend runners with good tread or hiking boots.

Low tides – best when about 0.3m to 0.4m.

Playground – Eastern Beach.

Toilets – Eastern Beach, Mellons Bay, Howick Beach.

For photos and further information, visit www.facebook.com/walksouteastauckland or follow the QR code below to the Relive website: www.relive.com/view/v8qVE27Bk36

Earlier editions of the Times and the Walks Out East Facebook page describe coastline walks that together link from the Panmure Bridge to Whitford Bridge.

Future columns will link from Point England to Whitford Bridge.

• Like to walk with others? The Howick Tramping Club is very welcoming.

It meets on the third Wednesday of each month at the Pakuranga Croquet Club.

Go online to www.sporty.co.nz/howicktramping/Home.