Mercer Bay Loop Walk - The Fringe

Two striking features are likely to cross your mind when you complete the Mercer Bay loop walk: the sheer majesty of the highest sea cliffs in the Waitakeres and the incredible ease with which one can reach them.

Two striking features are likely to cross your mind when you complete the Mercer Bay loop walk: the sheer majesty of the highest sea cliffs in the Waitakeres and the incredible ease with which one can reach them. Less than 10 minutes drive from Piha beach and taking about an hours walk, it is a blissful wander around a manageable route and provides the ultimate introduction to the rugged beauty and history of the west coast.

The car park, located at the end of Log Race Rd was once the site of a World War 2 radar station used to detect enemy aircraft entering Auckland’s airspace. In the years since then, the buildings have been relocated to other locations throughout the city and a now weather beacon sits on the site.

Being a loop track it can be started from either direction with the western route quickly leading south along the cliff tops of Takatu head through regenerating scrub. On this particular visit the afternoon is perfectly still and quiet with the wind and normally roaring tide below scarcely uttering a whisper. The well-formed gravel track undulates gently through thickets of Manuka, Kawakawa and Pohutakawa presenting, at one point a case of natural symbiosis; a Kauri growing out of the base of a Pohutakawa as if the two icons of New Zealand flora are joined at the hip.

15 minutes further will bring you to the first of the tracks lookouts offering perhaps one of the most spectacular views in Auckland. At 270 metres above sea level it presents an immense panorama of the glassy seascape stretching from the horizon to the coastline, which extends southward over precipitous rocky promontories to the sandy plains of Whatipu. Although safety railings have been installed around the most dangerous sites, extreme care and safety should be taken on all parts of the walk, especially by those with children.

The track then starts a mild descent winding inland through patches of Toetoe and Harekeke on which the last of the cicadas feebly sing their autumn aria over the growing hiss of the sea. Levelling out, it runs toward the cliffs edge and onto one of the promontories, the site of a former Pa and one of the first settlements in the Waitakeres. Here a Pou has been erected acknowledging these former inhabitants and as a symbol of Te Kawerau a Maki, the local Tangata Whenua and Kaitiaki of the area.

From the nearby grassy platform at the end of the bluff, you can observe to the north the colossal cliff face on which the first lookout is perched. Its sheer power is staggering, tumbling away into the ocean no longer placid but tumultuous with patterns of white foam rippling across the pounamu green water.

Venture back to the Pou and the loop continues up the inland side of head. For those willing to continue around the coast, Ahu Ahu track branches off and progresses south past Mercer Bay to Karekare. Otherwise it’s a quick slog up the hill to the car park. Although the ascent is relatively brief, those with limited fitness may want to take their time on this segment or alternatively attempt the loop from the opposite direction.

In any case, you’re not likely to want for much on this walk or find many others that so perfectly combine accessibility, spectacle and duration. And for those fleeing the clamour and convolution of less serene places, the views from the tops of those immense, ancient cliffs are certain to raise spirits. And put things in perspective.