Date visited: 18 January 2021
Elevation: 50m
Volcanic history
Ōtāhuhu (Mt Richmond) is a group of small scoria cones formed around 30,000 years ago from fountaining vents. The name “Ōtāhuhu” is an abbreviation of “Te Tahuhutanga o Te Waka Tainui”, translating to “the ridgepole of the Tainui canoe”, which refers to the portage site of the Tainui waka between the Waitematā and Manukau harbours. This manga was significant to Māori due to its strategic position for the portage of waka. A “portage” in this context means an area for transferring a vessel from one waterway to another.
Ōtāhuhu is one of the 14 Ancestral Mountains of Auckland, or Ngā Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau. In 2014, the ownership of Ōtāhuhu was returned to mana whenua as part of a Te Tiriti o Waitangi redress and is currently managed by the Tūpuna Maunga Authority. You can find a list of all tūpuna maunga on the Auckland City Council website.
Our visit
We kicked off our somewhat ambitious new project with Ōtāhuhu, located in the suburb of (unsurprisingly) Ōtāhuhu, opposite what inhabitants of Tāmaki Makaurau know as the meatworks. Also unsurprisingly, the place smelled distinctly like the meatworks, which was unfortunate but not exactly unexpected. However our discomfort was short-lived and the air was much better once we got up to the maunga.
Aside: we entered from the Great South Road entrance as we were coming from the direction of Onehunga on non-volcanic business and I was unaware at the time that there was another way in. The driveway from this entrance takes you up to the Auckland Motorcycle Club which is a bit of a foreboding building, but there is a large and convenient parking area. If you’re coming here on your own with little ones, though, I do not recommend parking here as the car park is isolated and set far back from the road. It would likely be safer to use the Mt Wellington Highway entrance, and that’s also where the toilets and playground are located.
Anyway, after leaving the car alone in the scary car park, we made our way up a nice paved path into a wooded area at the base of the maunga and immediately encountered this fascinating ruin of a building.
This area has been a public reserve since the late 1800s, so perhaps they are 19th century toilets? I’m not sure. But the walk up to the tihi was nice and shaded and not too steep. The kids managed it easily even with inappropriate footwear.
The kids particularly enjoyed the trees and the impressive leaf carpet.
Near the tihi, there were two cones with well-worn paths leading up to them. While we didn’t meet another person on our walk this day, clearly the maunga gets a lot of visitors. It was a short but steep climb up each of the cones to the top.
Ōtāhuhu is dotted with kūmara pits so you need to watch where you step, as they can be hard to see when the grass is long. I am told you also shouldn’t enter the pits, the same way you shouldn’t enter the maunga’s crater(s). I don’t have an exact grasp of why, other than the kūmara pits are culturally and archaeologically significant. Perhaps someone knows? Since the pits were used for storage of comestibles, it might be like stomping around inside someone’s pantry. Anyway, you probably just shouldn’t do it.
Once we’d taken our tihi (summit) photo we made our way back down the maunga and back to the car (and subsequently discovered on our way home the much more convenient Mt. Wellington Highway entrance to this location).
Directions and facilities
If you are coming from Central or West Auckland via the motorway, you will come to the Great South Road entrance first. Continue on to Portage Road, turn left, turn left again and you’ll be on the Mt. Wellington Highway. Look for Bert Henham Reserve, where there are public toilets and a playground. It should also smell less meaty.
Happy adventuring,
