Guest blog by Tracy T , mother of one of CAA’s staunchest little cyclists
We are a family of three keen cyclists, with ages ranging from 6 to 40(ish…) and most weekends we try to get out and explore Auckland on our bikes. Generally we’re able to cover about 10 kilometres interspersed with a few breaks, although I have learnt through a few mishaps that going on adventures with a six year old takes planning to make sure the experience is a positive one.
Last weekend, we finally got ourselves organised and headed up to the 7.5 km cycleway / walkway at Orewa – Te Ara Tahuna Estuary Cycleway. Finding the carpark is easy, and before I could say, “Where are you going?”, our six year old had dashed off to the local skatepark to play. Immediately I was struck with the safe vibe of the area, seeing several families at the skatepark, and others riding or walking on the cycleway. Once we managed to prise our daughter away from the skatepark, we headed on our adventure, briefly stopping to check out the detailed map to see if there were any highlights that we needed to be aware of. On our way I was quietly impressed by the wide concrete cycleways and new bridges.
Our daughter raced ahead and ‘hid’ on a beautiful carved seat. Stopping to ‘find’ her , I read the inscription and realised it was dedicated to the memory for a child that was a similar age to ours. This beautiful chair reminded me of how lucky we are and how good it felt to be out cycling with my family. The call of “Hurry up, Mum” jolted me out of my thoughts and we carried on. About half way round we bumped into a family that looked like locals, so we took the opportunity to ask if there were other cycleways we could check out at this point. The friendly local pointed us in the direction of some trees. Off we went and found some great little tracks through trees, a pond and a picnic table to relax.
After a satisfying biscuit and lolly break we cruised downhill, until a swing hanging in a tree was spotted and an obligatory stop was called. Getting back on our bikes we headed back to the car, immediately losing our child to the skate park again. A compulsory hot sunny day ice-cream was enjoyed at the ice-cream parlour down the road and the little playground across the road was an added bonus. What a perfect way to spend a summer’s day in Auckland!
For more detail on this cycleway and some great photos visit the link below:
http://cyclingauckland.co.nz/general/2012/04/great-rides-orewa-te-ara-tahuna-estuary-cycleway/
