TRAILS, TREES & TRAPS

Polhill Reserve, once an unofficial rubbish tip, is now home to some of New Zealand’s most popular urban trails. The Brooklyn Trail Builders’ tracks have brought together an eclectic community of volunteers and users to transform a gorse-ridden 80 hectares into a recreational and conservational haven.

Pausing on your climb at a seat halfway up Transient, the reserve’s most popular trail, it’s hard to believe the capital city is a five-minute ride away. The pristine medley of greens cloaking the hillside could be mistaken for a remote spot in the Remutakas. Kaka and tui dive and flit amongst pittosporum and fern. Above the waters of Waimapihi, trickling along banks of regenerating bush, you might see a ruru sitting silent in the trees, or if you’re lucky, hear the call or catch a glimpse of the rare tîeke that have made a home here.

I first discovered Polhill because I moved in next door; I write this to the sound of bird calls and brake squeals, looking out over Serendipity, a dedicated downhill trail, as it plunges through a spectacular grove of ponga. (I’m also looking at four pylons, a vivid reminder of Polhill’s proximity to urban life). Thirty years ago, my view would have been quite different.