Devonport Heads Walk

7.50 kms • 1.25 Hours • Easy • Excellent short walk in Auckland on the North Shore. Great views from North Head.

10 December 2023
Walked by: Sandra from Freewalks

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Devonport Heads walk takes in the best of Devonport in a short day walk from the ferry buildings in a wonderful loop of around 7.5kms.

Devonport is a historic seaside village on the northern shores of Auckland City. It’s only 15 minutes by ferry and 30 minutes by car on a quiet day from Auckland City centre.

Devonport has a unique heritage, a wide range of restaurants, cafes, art galleries and beaches. Enjoy the spectacular views of Auckland city and gulf from North Head and Mt Victoria. Step back in time and walk the narrow streets and admire the colonial architecture and scented gardens.

Quick Facts about this walk

Location: Devonport, North Island NZ
Distance: 7.50 kms
Time needed: 1.25 Hours
Difficulty: Easy
Wheelchair Access: No
Route: Round Trip
Elevation: 81m
Wet Feet: No
Toilets: Yes
Dogs: Leash only
Mobile Coverage: Yes

Summary points about this walk

Walk Highlights

Great views of Auckland and out to Rangitoto Island

Track Quality

Excellent walking path, mostly sealed footpath

Hazards

To many cafes! No other hazards.

Transport

15 minutes by ferry from down town Auckland. Or a 45 minute drive over the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Water

Who wants water, when you can have the best flat whites in Auckland.

Driving Instructions

Go by ferry from downtown Auckland.

Shops & Restaurants Nearby

There are plenty of choices in Devonport

Area & Trail History

Devonport is a historic seaside village on the northern shores of Auckland City. It’s only 15 minutes by ferry and 30 minutes by car on a quiet day from Auckland City centre. Devonport has a unique heritage, a wide range of restaurants, cafes, art galleries and beaches. Enjoy the spectacular views of Auckland city and gulf from North Head and Mt Victoria. Step back in time and walk the narrow streets and admire the colonial architecture and scented gardens. Keep an eye out for the wine & food festival in February and the annual Arts Festival. There is all so craft and flee markets in the weekends. The Navy used North Head for gun emplacement during the first and second world wars. There are still many military tunnels and bunkers to be explored. There are a couple of tunnels you can still walk through, but alas, most of the interesting tunnels have been closed off by the short sightedness of the Devonport City Council. North Head at 65m and Mt Victoria at 81m are two of the smallest volcanic mountains in Auckland. The most popular volcano is One Tree Hill which stands at 231m.

Map Location

Points of interest along the walk

Point 1: Devonport Wharf

The first photo was taken from One Tree hill. Looking east out to Hauraki Gulf. Rangitoto Island is 14.3 Ks out to the east, North Head is 8.4 Ks out to the east. When you walk off the Devonport wharf, you can either walk straight ahead in to the shopping centre and stock up with goodies for lunch this will take you 5 mins, or turn right and follow the waterfront around to North.

Point 2: Water Front Walk

North Head 1.5 Ks – 25 minutes The waterfront walk will lead you on to Edward Parade. Walking along Edward Parade can be a very interesting walk. There are a couple of nick knack shops worth a look, cafes and lots of old boats sitting on the beaches waiting for a little tender loving care. When you reach Torpedo Bay, look for Cheltenham Rd, over to the left. Turn left in to Cheltenham Rd, take the second street on the right, Takarunga St. The park starts at the end of this street.

Point 3: North Head Main Gate

From here, you have two options. Follow the sealed road up to the top, or turn right and walk up hill by following one of the many tracks. Half way up the Volcano is where most of the points of interest are. And the grand view is from the top. Find a great spot on the top, so you can sit down and take in the fantastic view of Auckland city and the gulf while you enjoy your picnic lunch. A couple of the gun emplacements are open to the public, so walk around and look at them. If the wind picks up while you are there, don’t worry, there are plenty of places to hide.

Point 4: Cheltenham Beach

Cheltenham beach and back to the ferry. On the gulf side of North Head, there is a short well used path leading down to the beach, this will only take you a few minutes. From here walk along the beach till you just pass the restaurant. Walk past the restaurant and you are back on to Cheltenham Rd. Now you can double back to Devonport ferry building, a 35 minute walk. This last photo is the view of Mt Victoria from the ferry.

Point 5: Mt Victoria

Mt Victoria 1.4 ks – 40 minutes away. If you have time up your sleeve, Mt Victoria being a lot closer to Auckland is a good place to snap off a few photos of Auckland city. If you wait long enough, a ship or two might pass you by.

From Cheltenham beach walk back along Cheltenham Rd to Takarunga Road where you turned up to North Head. The park on the opposite side of Takarunga RD is Devonport Domain. Cut across the domain keeping to the left. And watch out for the mad cricket players, they are a species of their own.

You are now on Cambridge Terrace. Look across Cambridge St to the left for Domain St. Walk up this street for 230m till you reach Vauxhall Rd, turn left walk 20m on to Church St, look across Church St to Kerr St. Walk up Kerr for 330 m, on the right is the road running up to the top of Mt Victoria.

The last photo is looking back to north Head from Mt Victoria, a distance of 1.2Km at 95°.

Point 6: Back To Devonport

Back to the ferry 1.4 km – 25 minutes easy, down hill all the way. Double back to the road you walked up to the top, but keep to the right and past the school entrance, cross the road and walk through a walkway and you are in downtown Devonport.