Exploring auckland by bike and train

As West Auckland seems to have more than its fair share of shared paths we decided to combine our love of cycling with my son’s love of public transport and explore the Waterview shared path.

After a rather disorganised effort getting out of the house ( see below for the list I am using next time and when I say ‘I’ I mean me and the kids ), we caught the train in to Britomart on the Eastern line but you could use any train line to get you to Britomart and then get on to the Western line.

If you haven’t taken your bike on the train before ( and to be honest neither had I but I had an expert guide in my mother as she has done it a number of times before );

Head for the train carriage that has the bike symbol on it

You will see the seats on the train that flip up have spaces for bikes ( indicated by a sticker ). There is even a strap to secure bikes – two bikes. We had 4 so two were unsecured and I had to stand and hold them.

From Avondale train station head towards Rosebank Rd down Layard Rd. Turn right on to Rosebank Rd. At the traffic lights go straight ahead to Trent St, this brings you out in the middle of the path. You can head towards Waterview or Onehunga.

Of course you could always drive to the start of the shared path. A great spot to park would be at the Waterview reserve which has a great playground, BMX track and skate park and is close to the historic ruins of bye-gone years.

The path itself is an easy gradient with wide concrete paths. We were there on a weekday so there weren’t many people using it but I can imagine it could be popular in the weekend.

We rode from the Trent St entrance down to Waterview and had a wee break at the playground in the Waterview Reserve. Be sure to check out the historic remains between the Reserve and the motorway.

We when headed back passed the Trent St entrance to explore the path in the other direction for a few kilometres before turning around and heading back to the train.