Maungawhau, or Mount Eden, is the highest point on the Auckland isthmus, one of the 14 Tūpuna Maunga o Tāmaki Makaurau , the ancestral mountains of Auckland. The volcanic cones upon which Auckland is built are of profound importance to the 13 Māori tribes and sub-tribes (iwi and hapu) who have historical claim to this region, together known as the Tāmaki Collective. In 2014, ownership of the ancestral mountains was passed back to the Collective.

Mount Eden, named by European settlers after George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, thrusts dramatically up from the surrounding suburbs. A few hours after touching down, in an attempt to stave off a jetlag-induced slumber, Ash and I passed through an unobtrusive gate off Mount Eden Road and began to climb the narrow path zigzagging up the terraced slope. In the trees that grew along the steep verge we spotted a tui, a native New Zealand songbird with a distinct white ruff and robotic, gurgling call. Beyond the treeline, grassy slopes line the central crater of the volcano, known as Te Kapua Kai a Mataaho (‘the bowl of Mataaho’). Back when the hill was a pā, or fortified citadel, and hundreds made their home on its slopes, offerings were placed inside the crater to placate the Māori deity Mataaho and prevent further eruptions. The crater is now off limits, while a boardwalk encircling the summit protects the sacred ground of the maunga from erosion.

Our climb earned us a panoramic view of Auckland. Our attention was drawn first to the downtown area, a built-up complex of financial skyscrapers dominated by the rocket-like Sky Tower. Down in the valley to our left we saw Eden Park, home of the All Blacks, and circling round to the South, the conspicuous obelisk on One Tree Hill, another Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountain). Out in the Hauraki gulf we saw Rangitoto Island, which erupted out of the ocean only 600 years ago, and Waiheke Island, the city’s vineyard-riddled pleasure ground.

There were reminders of winter in the chill air and the sun hung low in the sky.