Western Springs to Meola Reef

This week we did a mostly off-road run in the central city which takes in three parks and passes by the Auckland Zoo, MOTAT and off-leash dog exercise area on Meola Reef.

Western Springs

We parked at the top of the aptly named Bullock Track (very steep) on Old Mill Road. You can also park in Western Springs, by the playing fields, but we wanted to cover as much terrain as possible.

From the corner of Old Mill Road and Bullock track, there is a forested track going down the hill, which then goes across the playing fields. Then you can run around the Western Springs lake - there is a path but we ran on the grass. We exited the park and ran along Motions Rd (the only ‘on-road’ part of the run). Along here, watch out here for the old tram which takes passengers between the zoo and MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology)!

Seddon Fields/Jaggers Bush
From the end of Motions Rd you can get to Meola Reef one of three ways: across Seddon Fields sports ground, through Jaggers Bush, or along the tramway to Motat II. I recommend the lovely forested track through Jaggers Bush – the track and stairways have recently been upgraded and the area has a river and mature trees. The track comes out onto on Meola Rd.

Meola Reef
Across Meola Road, you can access Meola Reef – a small peninsula between Point Chevalier and Westmere. It was created by a lava flow and you can see how it trails off into the sea. These days it’s covered in grass and you can run around the edge, starting on tracks near the mangroves. At the tip there are picnic tables and views across the harbour to Birkenhead and Chelsea – last week’s run!

On the western side, there’s an off-leash dog park – a favourite hangout of Kelvin and mine before we lived together. All the owners stand near a bench at the top and the dogs all run around and play together – big ones with little ones, yappy ones with scary ones, fluffy ones with shorthair ones....and all have a great time. There’s even a swimming hole for dogs and a platform where they can enter and exit the water! The owners all socialise and discuss their dogs, and we would always feel like like a childless couple whenever we were there, spying on other people’s dogs! It's usually all very entertaining. But today, there were only two dogs....we felt a bit cheated.

Back to Western Springs via Motat II
We returned via Motat II with its aircraft museum, and went back around Western Springs lake on the zoo side this time. It was just about sunset, and being spring there are lots of signets and goslings. Western Springs is such a nice place – if you’ve only ever seen it in the craziness that is the Pasifika Festival you must go and experience on another day – it has a tranquillity that you don’t often find in the central city.

Maps
Mapometer map of this run
Auckland City Council pages: Western Springs, Jaggers Bush, and Meola Reef

Evaluation

• Distance: about 6-7km
  
• Terrain: easy peasy. So good for beginners.
  
• Track type and condition: mostly grass or gravel track. A tiny bit of road.
  
• Mud: Virtually no mud! We've had a few days of sun now though
  
• Views: from Meola Reef there are some nice water views. But I also like the fact that there is such nice parkland in a relatively central part of the city
  
• Novelty: Not really novel but nice to visit some areas we hadn't been to for a long time
  
• Remoteness: Not at all
  
• Toilets: Many in Western Springs, and another at Meola Reef
  
• Crowd factor: There's enough space here for everyone
  
• Watch out for: Trams! And geese. And whatever it was making that sound we could hear over the zoo walls
  
• Extra for experts: You could head (via 1-2kms of suburbia) to Coyle Park and run the western side of Pt Chevalier before returning via Meola Rd.

Verdict
An easy, fun, feel-good run with lots to see. Running this on a sunny spring evening on daylight savings time will make you feel like nothing is wrong with the world. Thumbs up!