Pt Chevalier to Point Erin Pools - an Urban Hike

Who in their right mind walks almost 12 km when the temp is 27 °C by 10 am. A crazy dog mum (me, below) that's who.

I love a good urban walk. They are unrated and underutilized. My two do not need to go to countless dog parks to have fun or run for miles off leash. They just need to be included and are my inspiration and motivation to get out of bed. I have been debating walking to Pt Erin for awhile. Its not exactly far away (6 km) but the idea of going there and then having to walk back was causing me to pull a face at this walk and go elsewhere. I am glad I finally told enough people who held me accountable and therefore had to go on this walk :).

I mapped it out the night before and had planned to wake up at 5:45 am to leave by 6. Which lead to a snoozed alarm multiple times and dragging myself out of bed around 6:45 am. It was hot by then and I regretted this decision but we marched on.

Looping around the front of Western springs we cut down rabbit alley (also known as Seddon fields or Jagers Bush on the above map) there's a few nice quick bush walks around here but we just walked the path. Down the main road until we hit Cox's Bay Reserve which is a (really nice) off leash dog park before 9am in summer. Here I was able to drop off my doggie bags and get some water while the boys had a sniff and nice meet and greet on our way out the other side of the park.

We waltzed down empty streets in the breeze until we decided to turn off the main road and get out of the sun. The tree lined side streets of Ponsonby are enough to make me want to walk there again on their own. Small staircases line the parallel street which lead down to mini beaches. Many of these are dogs on leash, which is fine but I knew if I walked down I would not want to keep going to the park. So we soldiered on.

Opposite the park there was another small beach (Masefield Beach reserve) and we decided to go down so Ed could go for a swim. The waves were a bit big and crashing down loudly so he decided against a swim and we went back to the road.

Pt Erin Park is large, mostly fenced and off-leash. It can get busy but there were only 3 dogs there when we were there and everyone keeps to themselves. From here you can also walk down the back of the park and along the motorway pathway. This will lead you to either under the harbor bridge or along the waterfront. I contemplated walking along the waterfront to the train station but I don't have two muzzles to then catch the train home with the boys. Hopefully we will get some new muzzles soon and it could be something to try in winter when we can take out time - ill let you know later on.

We did a loop of the park and Hux zoomed off after pigeons and then after Ed. We stopped to have some water and Hux threw up. It was like a long fluffy sausage and I realized it was extra wool from the lambs tail that he hadn't digested (my bad sorry Hux).

From the park we hiked up the hill and then turned down a side street to end up in Grey Lynn, we got lost along some weird un-labelled tracks and then popped out where I recognized. From here we ended up at the back of the zoo and then looped back along the zoo home.

The total track was 11.5km, 36 flights of stairs and took us 2.5-3 hours. We got home hot and tired but ready for breakfast (and coffee).

Have you done a walk like this? Will you do this walk? Let us know using the hashtag #eddyswalkingcrew