DOME VALLEY
Access: 74 km from Auckland on SH1 — at the Dome
Tearooms, 7 km past Warkworth.
Length: 1.2 km to Dome Summit — 1.5 hours return.
To the Waiwhiu Kauri Grove, 3.3km — 3 hours return.
Footwear: Walking shoes, boots in winter.
Caveat: The Dome walkway crosses land sacred to local
Iwi, walkers should keep to the track. The tracks through to
Conical Peak cross private pine forest and logging operations may
cause changes to the marked route.
The walkway begins at the tearooms car park, at the top of the
Dome Valley. Steps lead upwards along a narrow road reserve with
private property either side to the Conservation Area — 401
hectares of native forest. The track leads 1 km along a ridge to a
lookout platform. The lookout, with views across the Mahurangi
Peninsula to the Hauraki Gulf, is a sufficient destination for a
short walk (40 minutes return). The ascent to the Dome summit is
steep and rocky. From there, the view is northward across exotic
forest to the distant crags of Taranga Island, the mother
‘hen’ of the Hen and Chickens Islands. The track
descends gently beyond the Dome trig, 800 metres to the Waiwhiu
Kauri Grove. These 20 mature trees give some hint of the
forest’s original magnificence.
A more extended route — suitable for experienced trampers
— can be accessed just before the climb to the Dome Summit.
The track leads left to the Waiwhiu Conical Peak Rd. Turn left to
reach Hill Rd on the right. This route fords a stream — the
road then branches, but bear right to reach the ridge line and a
clay road which leads either left to McArthur Rd exit, or right to
Conical Peak, and the Govan Wilson Rd exit.
Cache is a painted pill container that my kids made and
placed....