This 5km loop takes you down Victoria Avenue, one of Auckland’s most elegant streets, to Wilson Beach on Hobson Bay. The broad tree-lined avenue has graceful lamp posts, no overhead power lines, and historic two-storied homes set on carefully tended gardens.
Quick facts
| Distance | Approximately 4 to 4.5km loop (estimated from route description) |
| Time | 1 to 1.5 hours at an easy pace |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Terrain | Footpaths, a wooden boardwalk, and grass paths through the reserve |
| Dogs | On lead on footpaths and near schools, off lead exercise area at Waiata Reserve, check the current Auckland Council rules |
| Toilets | Public toilets on Clonbern Road, near the start |
| Parking | Free public car park off Clonbern Road, 2 hour limit |
| Public transport | Bus routes 70, 75, 751 and 781 stop at Remuera shops |
Getting there
The walk starts at the traffic lights where Victoria Avenue meets Remuera Road, right in the middle of Remuera shops.
- By bus, several routes run to and through the shops. The most frequent are the 70 and 75, plus variations such as the 751 and 781. On the Remuera Road side, the first stop is shortly after the shops begin and the second is just past the shops, almost opposite the Remuera Library.
- By car, there is a free public car park off Clonbern Road in front of the New World supermarket, with a two hour limit. Roadside parking on nearby streets is available but often full.
- Public toilets are on Clonbern Road, overlooking the car park and across from Jack Lum’s fruit and vegetable store.
The walk
From the lights at Remuera shops, Victoria Avenue runs for two kilometres down to Wilson Beach on Hobson Bay, part of the Waitemata Harbour. Looking along the Avenue from the top there is already a glimpse of the harbour in the distance, and it is worth pausing to notice the width of the road and footpaths, the graceful lamp posts and the complete absence of overhead power lines, on the Avenue and on the side streets running off it.
The Avenue is level for the first stretch, then begins to bear left and down. Another 300 metres on it straightens again, and the harbour at the far end looks closer with the slope easing off. City views open up to the left, with wider vistas across to Meadowbank, St Johns and beyond on the right.
Houses along the way range from lovely older two storied homes on well tended gardens through to plenty of more modern builds, and it is easy to compare how each sits in its section. Towards the bottom the Avenue slopes down past the grounds of Baradene College of the Sacred Heart, giving a good look at its all weather hockey field and treed grounds.
At the roundabout with Shore Road the road continues down to a wide drive leading to the beach. From there the path tracks right along the beach and joins a wooden boardwalk that meanders around the cliffs above the mangroves. The boardwalk gives way to a footpath bordering the hockey grounds and car parks of St Kentigern’s junior schools, then meets Shore Road again, where a zebra crossing leads over to the Martyn Wilson Field side.
From here the return leg loops back up through the Waiata Reserve gully and the surrounding streets to the ridge and back to Remuera shops. This walk has a downloadable map with full turn by turn directions, so the notes here stick to the highlights rather than a blow by blow account.
What you’ll see
Victoria Avenue itself is the main feature, a wide, leafy street with a real mix of architecture. Some of the older two storied homes are beautifully proportioned on carefully tended gardens, and they stand in noticeable contrast to the newer builds along the same street, some of which sit a little less comfortably in the setting.
Towards the harbour end, Baradene College of the Sacred Heart, one of the largest and oldest Catholic girls’ high schools in New Zealand, borders the Avenue along its longest boundary. The walk passes its all weather hockey field, treed grounds and some historic buildings. On the opposite side are entrances to Victoria Avenue Primary School, tucked in among the surrounding houses.
Further down, St Kentigern Boys’ Prep School and the newer St Kentigern Primary School for girls and boys border the shore footpath and boardwalk. The Prep grounds contain Roselle, a two storied wooden mansion once owned by the Liston Wilson family, whose forebears founded the Herald newspaper. The family bequeathed the property and its 14 acres to the St Kentigern Trust Board in 1949 for a boys’ school teaching the Presbyterian faith, and the school opened nine years later.
Across Shore Road, Martyn Wilson Field is a well used reserve for cricket and football, with trees and shrubs around its edges. From there the walk drops into Waiata Reserve, a steep natural gully running down from the Remuera ridge that Maori once used for seasonal food gathering, birding and access to freshwater springs. When the ridge top roads were subdivided for villas, the gully was considered too steep to build on and left as scrub and drainage land. Auckland Council later grassed the terraces and planted macrocarpa, pine and oak, and today it’s a peaceful dog exercise area with a mix of mature exotic trees, regenerating native bush and plenty of birdlife.
Who it’s for
This suits anyone who enjoys a good look at grand old houses and quiet suburban streets as much as a harbour outlook. It’s an easy, mostly flat walk, so it works for casual walkers, dog owners heading to Waiata Reserve, and anyone curious about Remuera’s schools and history. The footpaths and boardwalk are straightforward underfoot, though the climb back up from the harbour to the ridge is a bit more work.
When to go
The walk works year round since it’s almost entirely on footpaths and a boardwalk, with no tidal sections to plan around. Waiata Reserve has its own seasonal changes and is worth a look in different times of year for the birdlife and the mix of exotic and native trees.
Important stuff
Dogs are allowed on lead along the footpaths and streets, and Waiata Reserve is set aside as a dog exercise area, but check the current Auckland Council rules before letting dogs off lead. The route passes close to four schools, so expect more foot and car traffic around drop off and pick up times, and take care crossing Shore Road at the zebra crossing near St Kentigern.
Toilets are only available at the start, on Clonbern Road, so plan ahead. Parking off Clonbern Road has a two hour limit, so drivers doing the full loop should check the time.
Other walks nearby
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