Top picks:

• Stop in at Arataki Visitor Centre and pick up a track map
• Experience  walks and waterfalls including Kitekite Falls and Fairy Falls
• Walk the stunning Hilary Trail
• Spend the night in the peaceful DOC camping grounds

Fact file:

• The Waitakere Ranges covers more than 16,000ha of native rainforest and coastline
• Explore over 250km of walking and hiking tracks
• Award-winning movie ‘the Piano’ and popular TV shows ‘Xena’ and ‘Hercules’ were filmed here
• The ranges are known to local iwi as Te Wao-nui-aTiriwa after one of the tribe’s earliest ancestors 

Why visit?

It’s hard to believe that you can be in the middle of Auckland’s cosmopolitan city centre one moment and immersed in a subtropical rainforest in just 40 minutes.

The powerful landscape which is steeped in a dark canopy of mystery will lure you in. You can’t help but be awestruck by the magnificent rugged terrain and its deep beauty.

Make your first stop the Arataki Visitor Centre to pick-up information brochures and detailed rainforest walking maps. Take in the stunning views from the visitor centre lookouts points. Set high on a ridge, the sight will take your breath away as the view sweeps across the forest back towards Auckland’s skyline.

As you begin your journey deep into the lush green Waitakere Ranges you’ll discover black sand beaches, beautiful and dramatic landscapes, magical waterfalls, streams and an abundance of wildlife. The forest is a bird watchers’ paradise with morepork, kingfisher, shining cuckoo and tui among the native species. The rainforest is rich with native bush flora and fauna - see the famous kiwi silver fern, kauri and rimu trees and much more.

Outdoor enthusiasts will be in their element in the Waitakere Ranges with plentiful opportunities to surf, swim, fish, walk, run, picnic, camp and even launch boats.

Make sure you’re prepared for your adventure before you head out on any long walks in the ranges - as with limited cell phone coverage you’re really out in the wilderness. It’s not called the wild west for no reason!

Location

View Waitakere Ranges in a larger map