Takarunga Mt Victoria in Devonport is one of the many extinct volcanoes around the Auckland isthmus. It is immediately up the main road north of the village and takes about 20 minutes to walk from the ferry terminal to the top. When walking up, follow the track to the left from the entrance that winds around the mountain. Then, come back down via the road past the historic Victorian house, which is used to support an artist-in-residence programme.
The views from Mt Victoria are superb. They span the Waitemata Harbour south to downtown and Mt Eden, north to Rangitoto and the Hauraki Gulf, and west to Waiheke Island and the Coromandel. The mountain was also the site of a pā, and there are signs of pre-European habitation, including pits and terraces on the north side of the mountain.
With the development of Devonport, the crater was destroyed by adding a water storage facility. The now prettily painted mushrooms on the top of the mountain are air vents for the pumps.
But it’s the military history that is the biggest surprise for a modern-day visitor. The mountain was a component of the harbour defences developed in the late 1800s (the “Russian Scare”). There is a restored disappearing gun position and several other signs of past military use.
