With the Waitakere Ranges about to close due to Kauri dieback disease, we decided to get one last walk in. We headed over to Karekare and did a loop starting with the Zion Hill track, down Buck Taylor track and Pararaha Valley track and back along the beach. The climb up Zion Hill track was mostly a sheltered walk through trees but some points opened out for some great views back to Karekare Beach and on towards Whatipu Beach.
After a nice walk through the trees we reached the end of Zion Hill Track and headed down the “10 minute” section of Buck Taylor track. The ground was still a bit wet and this steep downhill section was quite slippy, so took a bit longer than 10 minutes.
After the descent we joined Pararaha Valley track and passed a small body of water with some very noisy swans and their babies. From here the track sort of disappeared and we weaved our way around the sand dunes towards Tunnel Point, which we could see in the distance. We spent a bit of time wandering around in a circle (right next to the track according to the GPS) and eventually managed to find some markers pointing us in the right direction. Passing through Tunnel point the track opened out onto Karekare beach and we made our way back to the car park.
