With an Auckland Extreme Weather forecast, we negotiated the motorway traffic and arrived at a very wet and windy Highbrook Park.  Highbrook was developed as a racehorse stud farm before it was converted to a business park. The explosion crater’s proper name is Pukewairiki which means “the hill with the associated small lagoon”. The crater floor is now salt marsh and mangrove forest. One of the oldest extinct volcanic craters (estimated 50,000 to 100,000 years) in Auckland, the Pukekiwiriki Crater rim rises twenty metres above the river terrace.

Up above the crater we managed to eat our morning tea in the sun.  However, that was the last we saw of it and it got less sheltered with light rain storms as we continued on the walk.  Finally ate our lunches in the cars.  But as always, great to be out in the outdoors with good company and someone mentioned 11km, so a marvellous day in the end. 

Thanks Linda.

Diana

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