Travel Guide: Omanawanui Track

I have had the Omanawanui Track on my saved places to go for a long time now and with football season around the corner I wanted to get this in before my weekends started to get busy.

The Omanawanui Track is beautiful, you don't feel as if you are in Auckland. The track is part of the Hilary Trail and is the Southernmost point of the Waitakere Ranges which overlooks the entrance to Manukau Harbour. If you are keen for a challenge and a new adventure I would recommend Omanawanui as your next stop!

Travel Time

1 Hour 5 Minutes (from Auckland CBD)

Walking Time

1 Hour 45 Minutes

Distance

3.52 km

Grade

Easy - Medium

When traveling to Omanawanui Track Carpark you will be driving through rural living with views across Manukau Harbour as well as hitting a gravel road for the last 10 minutes of your journey. The road is along Whatipu Road and wraps around the Waitakere Ranges so has many bends and sharp corners. When driving the gravel section of the trip I would advise to drive slowly as the sharp corners restrict your view of oncoming cars.

NOW, I am not going to lie to you...95% of this track is stairs with exactly 2,420 individual steps, but who doesn't like a nice leg workout while immersing yourself in the 360° views of both the Waitakere Ranges and Manukau Heads across the harbour.

The track has a nice balance of forest cover and open air throughout the walk and consists of three different lookout points that are all contrasting heights within the ranges throughout the track.

At around the halfway mark, there is a large rock mound that you will need to climb while holding on to a chain, this was a very interesting expereince but was very safe and easy to navigate.

From the top peak you can appreciate the beauty of the Whatipu Peninsula and is marked with a trig point with boardwalk surrounding the formation. You will get full 360° panoramic views from this point of the walk. I believe you can continue walking the track which will take you to Whatipu Road, but we decided to treck back the way we came.

Shout out to Hannah for coming along and walking this epic track, taking amazing photos throughout the adventure and sharing many 'are we there yet' moments! A stunning day with many treasured memories together.