One can spend a volume of a lifetime living in a city and still not seeing all it has to offer. Mutukāroa ‘was’ one such place for me until recently. Placed right next to our main state highway, on the fringes of the CBD suburbs, I pass this place multiple times a week. Until recently I always wondered if it had a track and access, or was (as a few places are) locked off to the general Public. Then we went for an intentional drive and parked up at the entrance!
Travelling past it at 100kph/60mph, one does not realise it’s actually a fair sized park with an active farm of livestock grazing on its rolling grass hills. It also has some bush track and spaces for local bird watching. As well as the current attractions, it is a local site of a pre-European Māori settlement. One can see remains of habitation in the form of pits, terraces and middens. Being a high point of the area, this is not surprising – good view of approaching visitors and close to multiple water sources for fishing up some kai moana (seafood).
Interestingly (for some), in the 1960’s the hill was scoped for demolition to use to reclaim areas of the local Manukau Harbour. The local community petitioned and managed to save it. Both a win for its historical cultural significance and today’s recreation. Its actually out cities largest non-volcanic hill at 65m tall. The largest inner city is Mount Eden at 196m and out in the harbour Rangitoto at 260m – so Hamlins Hill (its other name from the Western side) is only impressive because it’s non volcanic.
Not the only hidden place I have no memory of visiting. I will find more another day!
Images shot on the old Canon EOS 300D
MikeHawkey.com 
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