Westies wanting a taste of the bush without leaving the city need to look no further than Te Auaunga Oakley Creek.
Stretching over 12 kilometres, Oakley Creek is the longest urban stream in central Auckland. The creek flows from Hillsborough through Mt Roskill, Mt Albert, New Windsor and Waterview to the Waitematā Harbour. The Oakley Creek Walkway is surrounded by 50 hectares of almost continuous green space. It’s a fantastic way for city dwellers to experience lush, green native bush.
‘Oakley Creek is unique as it’s accessible to the public for almost its entire length,’ says Wendy John from the Friends of Oakley Creek – Ngā Ringa o Te Auaunga. Set up in 2004, the Friends helps protect and preserve the creek environment and also works to raise the profile of this fantastic urban oasis.
Wendy says that Oakley Creek Te Auaunga has ecological, archaeological, social, and recreational importance for central Auckland. It also boasts diverse native flora and fauna, such as kereru, weta and eels.
Furthermore, the walkway is home to one of Auckland’s best-kept secrets: a six-metre-high waterfall. ‘It’s the highest urban waterfall in the country and the only one in central Auckland,’ explains Wendy.
The Friends of Oakley Creek works hard all year round on various activities to maintain this stunning natural environment. Working bees take place on Tuesday and Friday mornings, with a larger monthly one on the first Sunday of the month. Volunteers are kept busy with weed and predator control, planting and water quality testing. Wendy says the Friends even has its own native plant nursery located at nearby Waterview Primary School.
Unfortunately, the lower Oakley Creek Walkway suffered significant damage during the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023. Many trees were felled, and bridges washed away. Wendy says a helicopter was needed to lift out the broken-down bridges. Work to restore the walkway is now ongoing. The Friends continues to work closely with Auckland Council and other organisations to make that happen.
In the meantime, the voluntary organisation has a packed agenda of activities and projects. And thanks to funding of $19,410 from the Your West Support Fund, they have resources to get on with their valuable work.
Wendy advises that the funding has contributed to operational expenses and rebuilding the organisation’s website. The site is a valuable source of information about the area for locals and visitors. However, it needed a major upgrade to make it more interactive and accessible. The upgrade is underway, and the new website will be launched in 2025.
The funding has also contributed to the salary of the project manager and outreach coordinator. Among other things, this enables them to work closely with local volunteers, companies and community and educational groups. Recent corporate volunteers include teams from McKinsey & Co. and MTF Finance, who got stuck in planting and mulching along the creek.
The Friends of Oakley Creek is always keen to hear from anyone with an hour or two to spare. Check out the website for more information, email info@oakleycreek.org.nz or follow the group on Facebook.
