We decided one weekend to tackle three Auckland Mountains. We had already done Mt Eden (we ran up it), Mt Hobson (we walked up) and One Tree Hill (we cycled up) so decided we would try to knock out some of the other Mountains that we could see from the top of the ones we had previously been up.
Of the three we did this weekend, Mt St John is the smallest and easiest, Mt Wellington can be pretty easy or hard depending on how you make it to the carpark near the top and Mangere Mountain is large but a nice and easy walk!
First we checked out Mt Wellington which is a lot steeper than I ever thought it would be! Given that we bicycled from home to the top of Mt Wellington and back gave me a greater appreciation of its height compared to driving to the car park which is pretty much at the top and then taking the few stairs up to the tip of the Mountain. Mt Wellington is great for those who want more of a challenge by walking or driving to the top, but it can also be good for those with lower levels of fitness as you can drive to pretty much the top then just walk up a few stairs to the very top!
Mangere Mountain which is larger than I expected, and there were cows roaming around as well (don’t worry they don’t come anywhere near you!) which was pretty cool. Mangere Mountain has two peaks and gives a beautiful view back towards the city as well as out the other side! Mangere Mountain would be the biggest Auckland Mountain to walk around but the path up is nice and easy and not too difficult at all. If you decide to check out Mangere Mountain please do me (and yourself) a favour and go check out Ambury Farm Regional Park to see the animals! It’s only a short 5-10 minute drive from the Mountain! 
Lastly, on our way home from Mangere we stopped in at Mt St John which is the smallest of the three Auckland Mountains we visited but that doesn’t mean that you can discount it. It is a short walk and it’s pretty close to the city which means you get a great view! You only need 10-20 minutes to walk up and all the way around Mt St John which makes it great when you are short on time.
Do you enjoy finding Mountains to walk (or run or cycle) up?
Have you been to any of these ones?
These look awesome!
I am trying to get my fitness level up so that I can do Mt Eden with Mike. I’m hoping for some clear days with a breeze so it’s not too warm, maybe take a picnic and really enjoy the trip up there. Mike has already done Mt Eden and apparently there were some Chinese tourists who insisted on going into the crater. People were freaking out all over the place!
So that’s my New Years goal, to make it to the top of Mt Eden.
That’s an awesome goal, especially since it’s so close to you guys! Just keep walking to work and doing a little bit of exercise each day. The good thing about Mt Eden is that it isn’t stupidly high and you can stop along the way so it is totally achievable!