Cross a country on foot in a morning: from the Waitematā Harbour on the Pacific side to the Manukau on the Tasman side, over two volcanic cones, through parks, gardens and a working farm full of sheep, in the middle of New Zealand's biggest city.
Auckland sits on a narrow isthmus between two harbours that open onto two different seas. The Coast to Coast Walkway crosses it, using the city's volcanic cones as stepping stones.
The marked 16-kilometre route runs from the downtown ferry terminal on the Waitematā to Onehunga on the Manukau. It climbs through Albert Park and the university to the Domain and the Auckland Museum, then up Maungawhau / Mount Eden, whose 50-metre-deep crater is sacred and fenced off, with the best view in the city from its rim. It continues through the sheep paddocks of Cornwall Park and up Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill, with its obelisk and terraced pā earthworks.
Cafés line the way, yellow markers show the route, and the train from Onehunga returns you to the city. Do it in either direction, early, with the museum as the mid-morning stop.
North to south, following the yellow markers.
Start at the water on Quay Street and climb through Albert Park's gardens to the university.
Cross the Domain, Auckland's oldest park, built around an extinct volcano, to the Auckland Museum and its glasshouses.
Climb the cone on foot paths and walk round the rim: the whole city, both harbours and Rangitoto in one view.
Walk through the farm park's sheep paddocks and avenues of trees up to the summit obelisk and pā terraces.
Descend through the suburbs to the Manukau shore at Onehunga, and catch the train back to Britomart.
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Onehunga station is on the Onehunga line to Britomart, about 25 minutes. Use an AT HOP card or contactless payment.
The cones are tūpuna maunga, ancestral mountains. Don't enter Mount Eden's crater, and stay off the terraces.
The Auckland Museum's Māori and Pacific galleries are the best in the country; allow at least an hour.
Auckland practical notes →
Two more cones across the harbour.
The youngest volcano of all.
Waterfall and west-coast surf.
Clifftops and gannets.
The gulf's wild outer island.
Wikimedia Commons photographs are used under their licences; Pexels photographs under the Pexels licence.
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