A Refuge for the Oppressed

 

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, 

a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalms 9:9-10

Auckland City Walk, Cascade Kauri Regional Park, New Zealand

The Auckland City Walk is a 50 minute drive from central Auckland.  It is located at the end of Falls Road and adjacent to the Waitakere Golf Club.  The native trees on the walk include Totara, Kauri and Kahikitea.  There were several stream crossings and some nice waterfalls and the area is surrounded by bush-clad hills.  The Kauri Tree is New Zealand's largest and most famous native tree and one of the world's mightiest trees. The immense size of some of the trees were left over from the European settlers in the nineteenth century who devastated much of the area with  timber cutting.

Waitakere Range Park, Arataki Visitor Center New Zealand

 

Waitakere Range Park covers more than 16,000 hectares of native rain forest and coastline.  All the pictures above were taken from the multi level Arataki Visitor Center. Local iwi Te Kawerau a - Maki's ancestral association goes back to this area 700-800 years. We made the right decision to visit Waitakere and stay clear of the typical tourist attractions in Auckland. There were very few visitors and it is off the radar as a tourist attraction.  Other than a few profession hikers, we were the only visitors that afternoon.

Manukau Harbour at Waitakere Range Park, New Zealand

One of the things we tried to do in New Zealand was to visit places that most tourist would not see.  West of Auckland is the Waitakere Range and we visited the Arataki Visitor Center and hiked some of the Beveridge Track.  From a distance you can see Manukau Harbour south of Auckland. It was a cloudy day and we did get some light rain but the rainforest was gorgeous.