Pakuranga Stream

Day 210, Monday 19 March 2018

Today I explored a stream running between Smales Road and Ti Rakau Drive in East Tamaki. The stream becomes Pakuranga Stream, but I’m not sure what it’s called at the place I was. There’s a reserve surrounding the stream, but most of the way along the stream isn’t visible because there is dense foliage along its sides, and where there are paths they are at some distance from the water.

I walked along the western side, along Kelvin Hart Drive and then into Greenmount Reserve. My progress was blocked by a large commercial establishment, so I came back to Guys Road and followed a path along the eastern side. After a little while, that path turned off to a road, leaving me crossing grass which was muddy in places and with the occasional pong of sewage. The stream, previously broad, was now in a narrow concrete channel I could step across. When I got to Ti Rakau Drive I came back on the eastern side, but between Matarangi Road and Kellaway Drive I had only a narrow strip of sloping grass to follow because of a huge apartment complex fenced off from the stream.

The area is densely housed, with a mix of apartment complexes and rows of identical houses on very small sections. There were several park benches along the sides of the stream, but I thought the Auckland Council would make this green space more attractive for local people by adding proper paths, and some facilities for children to play.