About the path
Pukewīwī / Puketāpapa / Mt Roskill is a scoria cone volcano dated at about 105,000 years old. Lava flows from eruptions travelled as far as the upper reaches of Te Auaunga Oakley Creek valley near Hendon Road and created the swampy areas that gave Ōwairaka (the water of Raka) its name.
Pukewīwī means “hill covered in rushes”, while Puketāpapa means “flat topped hill”. The English name of Roskill is believed to have been given by Alexander Kennedy who named it after the Isle of Skye’s Roskhill.
The installation of a water reservoir in the early 1960s destroyed the shallow craters, with storage pits and some terracing being lost too. However, pits and terracing are still visible along the crest and on the western and southern slopes to point to its history as a Māori pā.
Ownership of Pukewīwī / Puketāpapa / Mt Roskill was returned to mana whenua as part of a 2014 Te Tiriti o Waitangi redress and is managed by the Tūpuna Maunga Authority.
You can access the path off Dominion Road. There is a small carpark as you drive in.
Most of the path is open to vehicles so keep an eye out for cars. At the start of the walk, you can see a section of Te Auaunga - Wesley Path that runs alongside State Highway 20.
It’s a short, steep climb along the sealed path to the tihi (summit). There are wonderful views of the Sky Tower and neighbouring maunga (mountains) including Maungawhau / Mt Eden, Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill, Te Tātua-a-Riukiuta / Big King and Ōwairaka / Te Ahi-kā-a-Rakataura / Mt Albert.
At the tihi, there are benches scattered around which make for a great place to sit down and soak up the views.
