Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill

Maungakiekie is a scoria cone rising out of suburban Auckland, and the ridges that ring it are not natural. They are terraces, cut by hand over generations for house platforms and gardens, along with hundreds of storage pits and lines of defensive ditch and bank. At its height this was one of the largest fortified settlements in the country, supported by rich volcanic soils and by harbours on either side. The cone now sits inside Cornwall Park, grazed by sheep and planted with olives and oaks, so the walk up goes through working farmland to a stone obelisk on the summit with the city spread below. The earthworks read best in low morning or evening light.

History

The terraces of the pā were built by the Ngāti Awa chief Tītahi in the 17th century, and under Kiwi Tāmaki, paramount chief of the Waiohua confederation, the cone and its surroundings were home to as many as 5,000 people. In 1847 the hill and the land around it became a Crown reserve, now the One Tree Hill Domain (Wikipedia, Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill).

Highlights

• The terraces and pits - hand-cut house platforms and food storage pits ringing the cone.
• The summit obelisk - the stone monument on top, with views to both of Auckland's harbours.
• The crater - the grassed volcanic bowl just below the summit path.
• Cornwall Park - grazing paddocks, tree avenues and the small colonial Acacia Cottage.

When to go

The park is open daily and the climb takes about twenty minutes from the lower car parks. Early morning or the hour before sunset gives the raking light that makes the terracing legible; under flat midday sun the earthworks read as ordinary hillside. Summer evenings fill with runners and picnics. Auckland weather turns quickly, so carry a layer.

Before you go

Private vehicles no longer drive to the top, so everyone walks, and the final stretch is steep enough to matter if you are unsteady. The single tree that gave the hill its English name was removed in 2000 and the replanted grove is still young, which catches out visitors expecting a landmark tree. Interpretation on the cone itself is limited to a few panels.

Nearby

The Stardome observatory and a cafe sit at the foot of the hill, with the Manukau shore a short drive on.