We pass a ceramic sculpture, poetically marking the spot where the traditional travel routes of Te Kawerau a Maki and Ngati Whatua intersect with the path.
These riverbanks used to be flood plains and dozens of homes were removed in the early 2000s to create this council parkland. Only their backyard fruit trees remain, including a bank of mature feijoa, ripe for foraging.
The children are intrigued by the bittersweet story and look for clues that family homes once stood here, but find none. The native bush on both sides of this river valley is now regenerating and will soon overtake the fruit trees - the last traces of the old neighbourhood.
About a kilometre in we round a corner and find ourselves part of a low, wide and open wetland rich with birds, with the trains of Sunnyvale Station coming, going, and sounding their horns in the middle distance. The mix of natural and industrial landscape is unexpected and thrilling: are we on the outskirts of Oratia, or Berlin?
Returning to the car, we drive around the corner on to Oratia's main drag, the West Coast Rd, to The Fabulist, a seriously cool vintage store selling great coffee.
Costume-designer Kristin Seth and her all-round wheeler-dealer partner Jay Hall opened The Fabulist less than a year ago. He's the buyer, she's the stylist. Hall used to sell to other shops - including Flotsam and Jetsam on Ponsonby Rd. It took him three years to convince the owner of this historic fruit-packing shed to rent it.
Fossicking in a basket of treasures, my six-year-old discovers a silver parrot brooch with coloured enamel detail, and hands over a couple of dollars. It's the sort of place - an old curio shop without the layers of dust - that will stick in a child's memory.
You'll often catch Kristin ducking across the road with two coffees in hand for a neighbourly chat with a well-known local. Dragicevich Orchard is run by several generations of the Dragicevich family, including the welcoming matriarch, Karmela.
Dragicevich sells heritage fruit that's hard to find elsewhere, including wine-sap pears, quinces, big bunches of Albany surprise grapes. Some of their trees are 100 years old.
Like a scene from the 1950s, my children are invited into the packing area behind the counter to reach deep into the giant slatted storage bins and choose a spray-free apple each at no cost. The orchard opens around Christmas with summer stone fruit, and moves through the seasons, open every day until the very last apple is sold. When it closes, in July or August, the locals are left to count down the days until that persistent sun ripens the stonefruit again.
Back in the car we move on to the end of nearby Parker Rd, where there's an easy 10-minute shortcut through the bush to the wonderful Arataki Visitor Centre, gateway to the Waitakere Ranges bordering Oratia.
Also on Parker Rd there's an honesty box outside Larsen's Orchid Nursery, where we choose a giant waxy flower head for just $3.50.
Our last view of Oratia is the $815,000 playground going in at Parrs Park, expected to open at the end of this month.
We can see the 10m wooden tower is printed like an old local apple crate filled with Oratia beauties.
NEED TO KNOW
Project Twin Streams' Oratia walk and cycleway is next to 102 Parrs Cross Rd, Oratia (pull off the busy Parrs Cross Rd and park in Legacy Drive).
The Fabulist: 547 West Coast Rd, Oratia.
Dragicevich Orchard: 556 West Coast Rd, Oratia
Larsens Orchid Nursery: 16 Parker Rd, Oratia.
Lucy's retro caravan sets up in summer, selling fresh strawberry icecream from Nola's Orchard at 474 West Coast Rd.
Oratia Farmers' Market is open from 9am to noon every Saturday morning, at 99 Parrs Cross Rd, just across the road from the cycleway. After you finish your walk or cycling enjoy their excellent coffee, breakfast, fresh produce and live music.
