About | Omanawanui Track
The Omanawanui Track was closed for three years due to kauri dieback. During that time it was being lavishly upgraded with thousands of box steps, hundreds of metres of boardwalk and a new lookout. This and a good amount of other tracks in the Waitakere Ranges were closed, mostly due to kauri dieback, so when it reopened it received a mass welcome with hoards of people coming to discover or rediscover this gem of a walk.
The Omanawanui Track is part of the multi-day Hillary Trail, named because this was where Edmund Hillary trained before taking on his famous expeditions. It’s a good day walk but shorter sections can be walked and are still very much worth it.
Bring the sunscreen for this track as a lot of it is exposed to the sun. And fix yourself and the family a sandwich and some snacks for the trail.
You can start the track at either end. If you’re starting from the Whatipu Beach carpark, the road out there is windy and narrow. When you leave Huia it turns to gravel so take it slow. The carpark has lots of space, but this fills up quickly on nice days.
Walk the first steps and the view has already started and continues for most of the way. There are a lot of steps, good thing the view is so good so that you can get away with admiring the view instead of admitting that you need a break. Photo opportunities are everywhere so make sure you bring the camera.
There’s a little detour (15-20 minutes), taking you to Signal House Track, and it’s well worth the extra walk. When you reach the end you are standing above the wild and majestic Whatipu Beach. Find fishermen standing by the rocks, trying their luck. Spot the little lighthouse out on the rocky coastline. See the waves coming in and if your lucky, some surfers riding them. It’s an expansive beach and even on busy days, there’s lots of room for everyone.
When you reach the first ridge, take a seat and enjoy the view across the Manukau Harbour, behind you is back from where you came, the valley where you’re car may be parked. It’s a great place to stop and take a photo and have a break from your first lot of steps, but know there’s still more where that came from. Following the trail with your eye, you can see that it descends into the bush, then comes right back up to and even steeper hill and what would be an even more impressive lookout.
It’s a good trek uphill and there’s even a spot where chains will guide you through but it’s rewarding when you commit and get to the trig station (241m high). Have a good break at the top because you totally deserve it. You can sit on the boarded viewing platform while you catch your breath and when you’re ready to stand back up, take in the vast views because they get even better than before. On a clear day, it’s said that you can follow the west coastline and see all the way out to Mount Taranaki.
You can stop there and return from where you came or make it an even longer trek by going the whole way and return either the way you came or via the road.
Which end should you start at?
If you’re doing the whole thing, most people like to start at the upper track end so that the view will always be in front of you, instead of facing the hill. But if you’re choosing to do only a section of it and coming back that way anyways, it’s really up to you. We liked parking at Whatipu and having the beach to play at when we were done. And with the upper car park being so small, you may just have to start from the bigger carpark.
Omanawanui Track starting points
- Whatipu Road end car park, or,
- small car park (room for 2 – 3 cars) at the upper track end along Whatipu Road (the Puriri Ridge Track starts on the opposite side of the road)
Time
2 – 2.5 hours one way, 3km (or walk how long you want, e.g. to the trig point and back).
Dogs
No dogs allowed.
What else is there to do close by?
While you’re there, check out Whatipu Beach. It’s a black sanded beach so the sand turns scorching hot on warm days – take your shoes with ya. There are sand dunes to play on, fishing is good around the rocks, check out the small lighthouse from the beach, go for a little wander – the beach is long, or have a splash in the waves (though swimming may not be safe due to rips).
There are plenty of great walks in the area! Our favourites so far have been Whatipu Caves where you can check out big caves that were once used as a ballroom and the stunning waterfall and swimming hole at Karamatura Falls.
If you want to stay longer, there are campsites, bach and lodge found right by the beach at Whatipu Lodge.
Top Right: Catching a glimpse of the golden sun looking through the native bush
Bottom: The sun blazing through over the hills as the sun sets over the Waitakere Ranges
Top Right: A boat entering the harbour seen through the steep cliff like descents into the ocean
Bottom: Looking out across the Manukau Harbour
Nearby
Location
You can park at either end of the Omanawanui Track – at Whatipu Road end or at the smaller car park further inland.
Photos
The Omanawanui Track goes one way, from Whatipu Road end car park and finishing further up the road, but we decided to end it at the trig point, around halfway in. There were heaps of steps to climb on this one and it was tough work but the views made it all worthwhile.
Taking the 15 min Signal House Track we walked alongside the harbour, taking in the west coast and ended up above Whatipu Beach. A glorious sight, the walk could have ended there and we would have been quite content. Already loving the track though, we knew we had to push on, there were even better things to be enjoyed further on.
Back on track, the path took us up plenty of steps and to another viewpoint.
We carried on, down and then up the next knoll and to the trig point. The track took us down through the bush, along a boarded walk. Lots of steps heading up to the trig, but every set of steps you take, the better the view gets. Take your time here and stop to take in those sweeping views of the beach and harbour below.
Reaching the top never felt so good. The steps were brutal and we all but fell in a wobbly mess onto the boarded platform and caught our breath. Never mind the view, we were more concerned on doing absolutely nothing for a minute. Snacks out, we gobbled on some food and watered down our dry throats. Heartrate back down, we slowly lifted our limp bodies and moved around to the other side of the platform to take in what we’d previously worked so hard for. And boy, was it all worth it. The views were incredible and being 241m high up gave us a perfect 360 degree vantage point.
After taking in those wonderful views, we turned back around and went back the way we came. We were completely wowed by the Omanawanui Track, though hard, the almost constant views make it worth it.
Back at the carpark, we decided to enjoy the area a little longer and went for a little wander down to the beach and followed the hot black sanded path that lead us straight to Whatipu Beach.
We ran up the big sand dune, climbed a boulder then checked out the water.
The boys had a blast playing with the waves. They always do.
