Hi all, I had a great walk yesterday around Kauri Glen with my good friend Deb and her dog Millie (14 years) and her “grand dog” (14 months). I think the Auckland Council does a terrific job of maintaining walks around the whole of Auckland.
Kauri Glen, located on Kauri Glen Road by Northcote College features large kauri trees, taraire forest and the Waiurutoa Stream. Walkers can enjoy a loop track which takes one and a half hours. Adjoining Kauri Glen is Cecil Eady Bush, where the walk takes one hour. Make sure you watch for the deep ruts in the undergrowth, a legacy from the bullock teams that used to haul out the kauri logs last century.
Two minutes in you feel as though you are a million miles from anywhere. The only bug bear I have is that women just don’t feel comfortable walking those tracks on their own, even with a dog. I still think we should have women-only walks that are patrolled so we can walk with freedom in some areas.
Kauri Park, in Rangatira Road, Birkenhead, has fine stands of large kauri trees with the oldest examples to be found in the north of the park. The walking track is a one and a half hour return trip. This park is noted for seasonal changes in its rich mix of ferns and flowering species, including native orchids.
After the walk there are some fun places to go. If you haven’t explored Junk and Disorderly before allow yourself a good hour to fossick. It’s a great place to look around.
http://www.junkndisorderly.co.nz/
My preferred coffee haunt is a newly -discovered one-thanks Dayle! It’s called Coffee Lab and is a little tricky to find. It is right behind the North Shore Events Centre in a little side street.
It has won several top NZ coffee awards.
Coffee Lab Cafe
We’re open:
Monday – Friday 7.30am – 4.00.pm
Saturday – 8.00am – 3.00 pm
Sunday – Closed
Public and Statuary Holidays we are CLOSED.
To find us:
We’re located at 15 Silverfield, Wairau Valley, Auckland. Click for Google maps.
The Coffee Lab Roastery Cafe opened in April 2012 primarily so the boys could have a tasty lunch cooked for them (by Antoni our incredible chef and some very tasty baked goods by Richie when he’s around….) and have amazing espresso on tap (single origin specialty variety from 3 grinders that changes most days) to keep us in the groove made with oozing dedication by Ben, Elliot, Harley and Sam. We also thought it would be a nice little get away for serious coffee geeks. So if that’s you, come and enjoy our space with an “all things coffee vibe” going on. Small menu with great food is our philosophy with probably the best Avo Bruchetta, French Toast, Pancakes and Egg’s you will ever have (the grilled free range chicken and totally yum eye fillet is amazeballs as well!) ! If there’s some of the Coffee Lab Chocolate caramel slice, get some! it is yummo! Look forward to seeing ya! Oh yeah…soft brew V60, aeropress, clever drip and cold drip mega variety also available….ask and ye shall receive 😀 what ever you want we can do it !
They also kindly gave us water for the thirsty dogs.
Fluffy George 