Being built on 48 volcanic cones, Auckland sure never runs out of fantastic viewpoints. Just check out Mount Eden from this post, and you’ll know what I’m saying. Thankfully, these volcanoes have long been extinct. Thus, people get to climb and sit on the rim of the dormant peak to indulge in gorgeous landscapes.
Located in Cornwall Park, One Tree Hill is an extinct volcanic peak also known as Maungakiekie in Māori (the native Polynesian people of New Zealand) language. It is Auckland’s second largest intact volcanic cone where you can get amazing city views from the summit.
Parking spaces are available around Cornwall Park and on top. So if hiking isn’t your thing, you can drive the steep, one-way lane and end right on the lookout.
One Tree Hill’s famous marker is the obelisk which has been proudly standing on top of the hill since 1940. It was built to honor the Māori race and also, to mark the 100 years since Treaty of Waitangi was signed.
It’s a massive and significant character of the hill that “Aucklanders see it and know they are home. Visitors see it and know they have arrived”.
There used to be a totara tree on top of the hill, hence, the name One Tree Hill. But it was chopped down in 1852 by a white settler. Attempts to plant another totara tree have failed, so a pine tree was planted in its place.
In the year 2000, however, the administration decided to remove the new tree following a series of activist attacks which severely damaged it. The hill has been resting bare since then.
People wanted the tree back given that it’s a part of the hill’s identity. Thus, in 2016, nine trees were planted around the area – with a plan to thin the wood over time until only the strongest tree remains.
One Tree Hill has one heck of a dramatic history; don’t you think?
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