Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Mt Eden: Not a closing but an opening

Ian Dalziel

Thu, 18 Feb 2016 10:18:03 +1300

What do we do with a problem like Auckland?

with apologies...
:- )

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 12 Feb 2016 10:24:07 +1300

How is this Sim-Auckland going?
http://community.simtropolis.com/forums/topic/16611-auckland-greater-region-new-zealand/?page=1

sandra

Fri, 12 Feb 2016 10:07:47 +1300

(Sorry not in reply to anyone, I've foxed myself)

Here’s my ‘a view of Auckland you don’t see every day’.

Walked up with my son a few days after Christmas. Daughter flying back to Aus. brought us to Auckland and we wondered what we could do that we hadn’t done…

Tom Semmens

Fri, 12 Feb 2016 04:46:03 +1300

I had a big pash once at the bottom of that crater, at night you can see the top but they can't see the bottom!! As for banning cars, assuming you are fit and healthy, if you are to lazy to walk to the top you don't deserve the view.

Sacha

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 17:51:11 +1300

You can come down it pretty fast.

works well in a car too – just look ahead the whole length

BenWilson

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:42:34 +1300

Y U MAKE ME DO THIS BEN?

In my defense, you could have driven, like what you used to be able to do at Mt Eden.

Yeah, it's a killer climb, particularly the on-road bits before you get to the gate. Summit drive pretty much goes straight up the side.…

Allan MacLachlan

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 14:22:33 +1300

I know busting a gut is good sometimes, but ….

May I then suggest you not cycle to check out my suggestion of Pukematekeo – go with the aid of an internal combustion engine. The climb from Scenic Drive is a gut buster, even taking into consideration that all of…

Russell Brown

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:49:32 +1300

For some reason I felt compelled to provide an illustration of your point about the (non) view from Albert.

So here's a pic looking northwest from the tihi.

To get there I had to ride my bike up that bastard hill then have a breather before ascending the steps. It's…

Andre

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 21:08:37 +1300

We're lucky that Fletchers didn't dream up a plan to plant 1500 homes on the volcano, or the government may have had to intervene on their behalf to help the destruction in the face of protests by local residents – like they did with Three Kings last week.

william blake

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 18:56:27 +1300

http://blogs.library.auckland.ac.nz/nicai/archive/2012/06/13/Solar-Plexus.aspx

I remember the first Solar Plexus on Maungawhau in the mid 80's, I spent the day on the summit of Mt Donald McLean, the highest point in the Waitakere ranges, painting sun shadows, which would be smeared and erased by the mid winter squalls. I listened to some of…

BenWilson

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 13:56:38 +1300

But, um, good luck with that …

Yeah, I don't expect change. I just voice my opinion on what is good, in balance. With Mt Eden, the balance is that something was added as something was taken away, and what was taken away was something I used to use a…

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 10:04:15 +1300

Light Metal
DIY volcanic cones
or a city going down the drainage....
:- )

Carol Stewart

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 09:04:48 +1300

Maybe if *everyone* climbed down into that steep, deep hole then the grass and soil might get eroded, but could the rock crater really get destroyed

It's a scoria cone, Philip. Basically a big pile of basaltic tephra (fragments of magma thrown out during eruptions). Many of Auckland's scoria cones…

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 08:13:23 +1300

:- )

william blake

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 07:53:46 +1300

Ian your puns are catching.

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 06:09:29 +1300

cache register...
Does anyone else recall the old mechanical cash register in there? ...
I’m sure I saw it at least ten times, only visiting a few times a year?
Ring up the changes, yet there is no accounting for the passage of time...
Till-death us do part -

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 06:03:58 +1300

silk slapping aeons...
Maybe if everyone climbed down into that steep, deep hole then the grass and soil might get eroded, but could the rock crater really get destroyed???
Give 'em an inch (or a second) and they'll take a kalpa!
Imagine a gigantic rocky mountain at the beginning of…

FletcherB

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 00:05:05 +1300

I'm pretty sure I made the descent into the crater (and climb back out) on my first or second visit as a teenager, way back in the early '80s before it was suggested to be a bad idea for either cultural respect or geographic conservation reasons...

Does anyone else recall…

Philip Bendall

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 23:39:49 +1300

Maybe it can......but I'm struggling to get a handle on just how a crater made of volcanic rock can get destroyed by human feet (or sports shoes, for that matter) stepping up and down its slopes. Maybe if *everyone* climbed down into that steep, deep hole then the grass and…

izogi

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 22:20:21 +1300

James Littlewood*:
Then a representative of Ngati Whatua (an iwi I have close personal ties with) accosts us.

Russell:
Mt Eden is also the highest point on the isthmus.

Are there any local cultural issues with actually standing on the top of Mount Eden generally, despite that everyone probably does…

Russell Brown

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 20:17:57 +1300

Actually the universal response of visitors we take up there is
“it’s so green”
“the air is so clear”

Rich was specifically addressing Pippa Coom's photo, in which the carpark looks like ... a very crowded carpark.

Russell Brown

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 20:12:12 +1300

Agreed. But Mt Eden gives better views of the city (we can usually pick out their hotel) and Rangitoto.

Mt Eden is also the highest point on the isthmus.

Russell Brown

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 20:10:01 +1300

Of all the places that we can and already do have pohutukawa stands, it’s basically the worst possible choice.

You're absolutely right. But, um, good luck with that ...

Martin Barry

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 18:51:33 +1300

There are many (mainly Asian) tourists walking up from their tourist buses, they look a bit anxious at the bottom but sure enjoy it at the top. I think it is a much better tourist experience, well in summer anyway.
Russell, have to agree with you the place is transformed…

Bart Janssen

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 17:02:17 +1300

Such an iconic view of Auckland. Cars, smog, you can almost taste the future.

Actually the universal response of visitors we take up there is
"it's so green"
"the air is so clear"

Rich of Observationz

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:49:24 +1300

Such an iconic view of Auckland. Cars, smog, you can almost taste the future.

BenWilson

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:42:26 +1300

It could have an awesome view. The sports field in the crater up there is quite bizarre, although it's no worse a use than many. I just don't get what's so marvelous about the pohutukawa forest blocking all the view at the top. Of all the places that we can…

Bart Janssen

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:41:05 +1300

30-40 minutes from dinosaur trees!!!

I still remember the first person who said this – we had taken her to the Cascades Kauri walk to show off our bush (It's on the way to Bethells beach Mike :)). She looked at the podocarps and shouted "dinosaur trees!" which is of…

Ian Dalziel

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:31:04 +1300

This dormant volcano climb thing is all well and good but hardly helps the local economy...
– How much does it cost to take the lift to the top of the SkyTower©?

Gareth Swain

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:29:46 +1300

I have a question: What do they do with the busloads of tourists these days, now that you can't drive to the summit? Do they make them walk the last 200m, or is Mt. Eden no longer on the itinerary?

I ask because I was a guide for overseas tour…

Mike O'Connell

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:16:02 +1300

ND if you have time Piha/Murawai blows away most visitors and you can stop in at some wineries on the way back. But you need the time.

I think we have the time – thanks Bart and everyone else for the travel tips! Our trip north for a long weekend…

Sacha

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:08:10 +1300

I know, of course, that it never actually belonged to me.

I belong to it, which also does not help.

Sacha

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:06:48 +1300

I just think there has to be a better option

Assorted council staff have been thrashing it out for over a decade. Possibly not.

Russell Brown

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:01:04 +1300

Yes, that would be the one that probably needs no more protection than it has – in that the last stretch is already some steps to be walked up. There's a football ground right near the top anyway.

It's also a thoroughly unenjoyable ride up.

BenWilson

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 15:35:32 +1300

Also, we can still give some thanks, for at least a few decades, that there is a view from Mt Eden at all. Mt Albert is basically an unremarkable stand of pohutukawa when you look North. No need to limit access to the summit – most times I go there…

Russell Brown

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 15:32:33 +1300

The scenic drive is great too, also where else in the world do you have a major city 30-40 minutes from dinosaur trees!!! AND if you have time Piha/Murawai blows away most visitors and you can stop in at some wineries on the way back. But you need the time.…

BenWilson

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 15:31:02 +1300

Mt Eden was the best choice and I’m still disappointed there was no halfway ground that could be made to work.

Heh, well, the parking is about halfway up... :-).

Bart Janssen

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 15:03:39 +1300

There’s still One Tree Hill/Maungakiekie. And where else in the world does a public park incorporate a working farm in the centre of a major city?

Agreed. But Mt Eden gives better views of the city (we can usually pick out their hotel) and Rangitoto.

The scenic drive is great…

Allan MacLachlan

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 14:51:13 +1300

It instantly gave them a sense of the Auckland landscape.
There's still One Tree Hill/Maungakiekie. And where else in the world does a public park incorporate a working farm in the centre of a major city?

Or if you have the time visit Pukematekeo on Scenic Drive: https://goo.gl/maps/URa5924VMuE2
I discovered…

tony j ricketts

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 14:11:47 +1300

"My disappointment is that when we got overseas visitors (think middle-aged less than fit scientists) we would routinely take them from the airport straight to the top of Mt Eden. It instantly gave them a sense of the Auckland landscape"

I used to do that too when I lived in…

Russell Brown

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 13:57:28 +1300

An electric bike/rickshaw service?

You wouldn’t need many to cover those who aren’t disabled but still can’t do that climb.

There was a shuttle service for a while after buses were banned. Not sure what happened to it. But yes, some kind of e-bike rickshaw service would be great.

BenWilson

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 13:37:43 +1300

My only reservation is that already having a mobility card is a fairly high bar for people who might be mobile on the flat but can’t manage the climb and perhaps a way could be found to accommodate them without letting that concession be abused.

Yup, it's not going to…

Bart Janssen

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 13:36:18 +1300

Could one get a pedicab/rickshaw through the bollards?

An electric bike/rickshaw service?

You wouldn't need many to cover those who aren't disabled but still can't do that climb.

Bart Janssen

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 13:34:34 +1300

I'm a believer that roads are for people and goods.

Sometimes that means cars, but if removing the cars means more people get to use the road then that is what should be done.

My disappointment is that when we got overseas visitors (think middle-aged less than fit scientists) we…

Russell Brown

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 12:39:44 +1300

Fair call. (In mitigation, I did this only once 15 or so years’ ago whilst visiting Auckland).

Of course – and back then there was no such prohibition. I went down into the crater with my kids, like everyone else.

Grant McDougall

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 12:02:37 +1300

Ah, yes. Maybe not. Despite the bollocking we received, I believe the crater is both tapu and environmentally sensitive.

Fair call. (In mitigation, I did this only once 15 or so years' ago whilst visiting Auckland).

Russell Brown

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:56:09 +1300

And here's the "before" pic, taken in January 2015 by Pippa Coom. She says "all you could hear was car engines."

Russell Brown

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:53:07 +1300

If you ever go up to the top of Mt Eden, I highly recommend you do the following: walk down into the middle of the crater and lie down.

Yeah, don't. I'm sure it's awesome, but if everyone does it the crater will be destroyed.

Russell Brown

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:52:06 +1300

Still love the place. But haven’t really felt much like going back since. A truly foul experience of the place I call home.

To be fair, there are signs saying not to enter the crater. It's been prohibited for a long time because of the damage being caused.

Robyn Gallagher

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:47:38 +1300

Back when I lived at the foot of Mt Eden (I could walk to the summit without crossing any roads!), I used to walk up the hill quite a lot. And I can say: getting to the summit on foot is a much more enjoyable and rewarding experience than zipping…

James Littlewood*

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:44:35 +1300

walk down into the middle of the crater

Ah, yes. Maybe not. Despite the bollocking we received, I believe the crater is both tapu and environmentally sensitive.

James Littlewood*

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:42:03 +1300

That cycle route might make it viable to get into town on my bike from Titirangi. Currently, negotiating Gt North Rd between Waterview spaghetti and Blockhouse Bay Rd is just too much of a mortality crap shoot.

Maungawhau. I was up there with my kids and their cousins from out…

Grant McDougall

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 11:34:33 +1300

If you ever go up to the top of Mt Eden, I highly recommend you do the following: walk down into the middle of the crater and lie down.

You will be rewarded by the quite amazing sight of the sky completely encircled by the vivid green banks of the…

James Butler

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 10:50:15 +1300

Could one get a pedicab/rickshaw…

Public Address

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 10:50:15 +1300

Discussion from blog post.