This Huge New Recreation Area Is Set to Offer Family-Friendly Walking and Cycling Tracks South of Auckland

At this stage of Auckland's lockdown, you probably feel like you've pounded the pavement along every walking route in your neighbourhood and beyond. So as soon as freedoms allow, why not get out of the central city and take a fresh gander somewhere new?

A new multi-million dollar public recreation area in Drury is offering masses of clean, green exercise space for keen Aucklanders, alongside a plan to plant half a million native plants and trees. 

Over four kilometres of cycling and walking tracks are part of the new 90-hectare public green area, with paths winding through dense wetland, green outfall areas and native bush. 

The recreational space at Drury South Crossing is one of the largest public spaces in Auckland — one and a half times the size of the Auckland Domain — and the tracks are reportedly family-friendly and can be navigated on foot or wheels. The wide green spaces, meanwhile, are perfect for summer picnics. 

The area is also part of a five-year planting project that will see the installation of half a million native plants and trees, and a giant 35,000-square-metre newly constructed wetland created to support a broad cross-section of native wildlife. 

Dam design experts worked with Ted Ngataki and Maaka Potini, local Māori artists, to incorporate Tikanga Maori and the concept of an eel into the design.

The design for the eel-themed wetland was developed with several local artists.

Drury Road South Crossing CEO Stephen Hughes told Concrete Playground developers are gifting all 90 hectares of open space to Auckland Council, with the rest of the area set to be privately owned for business and housing development. That means the council will manage the upkeep, keeping the native fauna and flora thriving.

Hughes said in a statement he hopes the space becomes a recreation destination for the wider Auckland region as the country's Supercity continues to grow at "an unprecedented rate".

"We have already seen how popular the current open space is not just with locals enjoying the space but a diverse array of birdlife who have already made the area their new home," he said. 

"The current freshwater area has also become the perfect habitat for native eels and fish, and we hope to encourage more wildlife to the area as part of this new gifting project." 

The Drury public recreation area is open to the public now. For more information on the development at Drury South Crossing, head to the development's website.