January, 2014
While central Devonport is the North Shore’s key sight, the surrounding area also has worthwhile spots. Sharing the tip of North Shore’s peninsula is Maungauka North Head Reserve. Maungauka is the area’s other dormant volcano. Like Mt. Victoria, this hill was once a military encampment with underground tunnels and gun emplacements. Now, it’s a grassy reserve with trees and walkways for nature lovers, historic relics for history buffs, and an upper parking area for hiking avoiders. It’s not as high as Mt. Victoria, but its views are impressive.
Not surprisingly, we chose to drive instead of walk to the upper lot. Still, there was plenty of walking to do once we got there, including a short hike to get to the tippy-top of the hill for photo ops and fantastic views. Other visitors were picnicking on the grass, walking through the tunnels, or watching the short films offered in the historic military buildings. This place had something for everyone and could easily fill an afternoon.
(Below, a few photos from North Head Reserve–you can click to enlarge and scroll through photos).
Below North Point’s east side sits a beach called Cheltenham, and beyond that is another former military site that’s now a park, the Fort Takapuna Historic Reserve (both of which are visible the first photo in the gallery above). It’s not all that well known, but its low grassy hills and seaside location make it a particularly nice area to take a stroll. If we lived here, we’d visit the volcano hills, but this is where we’d actually take regular walks.
Just north of Fort Takapuna is another of North Shore’s popular beaches, Little Neck Beach. It was nice enough, but now that we’d visited North Shore’s best-known beaches, our favorite was still the beach we first visited, Takapuna Beach. –Cyndi
Below, a few photos of Little Neck Beach, the Fort Takapuna reserve, and a view of Cheltenham and North Head.
