Spoonbills circling over the Manukau Harbour between Ambury Regional Park and Puketutu Island. Photo / Martin Sykes
Where: Ambury Regional Park, on the shores of Manukau Harbour, at the foot of Mangere Mountain, 15km from Auckland central.
Getting there: From the city, head south towards Royal Oak and Three Kings, and make your way on to Pah Rd. Keep heading south until you hit
the SH20 motorway heading towards the airport. Keep going along the motorway until you reach the Coronation Rd off-ramp and follow the signs to Ambury Regional Park.
How long? About 20 minutes from Auckland CBD.
What to do: The park takes its name from the Ambury Milk Company which farmed cattle and ran a town milk supply there from 1893-1965. And today, although it's now a public park, the land is still home to a large number of farm animals. Pigs, goats, cows, sheep, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, peacocks and a horse live there, and visitors can mingle closely with them all.
As you wander around the park (there are good paths making it easy for those with wheelchairs or pushchairs) you will come across Maori stone mounds which survive from pre-European days when the land was used as a gardening site, servicing the pa that stood on Mangere Mountain.
There are also the remains of a windmill and wells that were part of the Ambury Milk Company. Once you're done with the farm animals and the history, take the 2km (45-minute) easy walk around the foreshore for some bird watching - the park is home to more than 80 different bird species.
At this time of year, there can be up to 20,000 birds in the air around the park, which have migrated up from the South Island and sub-Antarctic.
Hungry? There are several wood (bring your own fuel) and electric barbecues in the park and many picnic tables. There is also a large picnic site that can be booked for groups of up to 500 people. For bookings call (09) 366 2000.
Want to know more? Visit arc.govt.nz/parks and navigate your way to the Ambury page.
