Guns, Tunnels and Māori Heritage: A North Head Summit Audio Tour

(3 reviews)

Auckland audio tour: Guns, Tunnels and Māori Heritage: A North Head Summit Audio Tour

This is a 2mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

Auckland

New Zealand

$4.99

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About the Tour

Maungauika North Head Historic Reserve is home to one of Auckland’s most intriguing military fortresses. On this walking tour, you’ll climb through hand-carved tunnels, explore gun emplacements, and hear stories spanning 800 years – from Māori pā fortifications to Cold War secrets.

Starting at the Tainui Landing Memorial Marae, you’ll summit this ancient volcanic cone that guards Auckland’s harbour entrance. You’ll discover how this was where Māori chief Uika once established his settlement and how, later, colonial fears of Russian invasion created an underground labyrinth. You’ll walk the same paths used by Māori defenders, Victorian soldiers, and WWII personnel who carved these tunnels by hand through volcanic rock.

The tour winds from Torpedo Bay through Devonport Domain park and up the summit with its spectacular 360-degree views. You’ll then head down to the charming and secluded Cheltenham Beach before returning along the waterfront. The tour ends in front of the Torpedo Bay Navy Museum, where you could relax for a while at Torpedo Bay Café.

On this 90-minute tour, you’ll have a chance to:

Stand beside massive disappearing gun emplacements that could sink warships but never fired a shot in anger
See the Tainui Landing site, where Polynesian voyagers first arrived 700 years ago
Walk down ”smuggler stairs,” a pathway carved directly into volcanic stone that leads to hidden bunkers
Learn about the South Battery’s innovative hydro-pneumatic gun carriages and see the Memorial Saluting Battery
Pass Cheltenham Road’s heritage homes and the McHughs of Cheltenham restaurant, and find out how this peaceful suburb once bristled with searchlights and submarine nets
Hear legends about secret chambers and buried aircraft that have fuelled decades of mystery

By the end of this tour, you’ll have experienced one of Auckland’s most captivating walks where volcanic geology, Māori heritage, and military ingenuity create an unforgettable adventure above one of the world’s most beautiful harbours.

Please note: The tour includes moderate climbs and hand-hewn stone stairs, but the stories and views make every step worthwhile.

Tour Producer

David Downs

6 tours

Kia ora – I’m David Downs: writer, former comedian, CEO, and lifelong storyteller.

My career has zigzagged in the best possible way. I started out in comedy, writing and performing stand-up and television, learning how to find the human truth in any situation – and how to keep an audience leaning in. That instinct to connect through humour and story has shaped everything I’ve done since.

I’ve written several books, including memoir and business titles, often drawing on my own life – from building start-ups and working in technology, to facing cancer and travelling to Boston for life-saving CAR T-cell therapy. Story, for me, isn’t just entertainment. It’s how we make sense of challenge, change, and possibility.

Today, as CEO of New Zealand Story, I lead the team responsible for sharing Aotearoa’s story with the world. That means shaping how we present our country’s identity, values, creativity and innovation on the global stage. It’s nation-branding, yes – but at heart it’s still storytelling: who we are, where we’ve come from, and what we stand for.

Through my tours, talks and writing, I bring that same lens to the places around us. I’m fascinated by the layers beneath the surface – Māori history, early European settlement, hidden military stories, forgotten industries, and the quirky characters who shaped our communities.

If you walk with me – literally or through audio – you won’t just hear dates and facts. You’ll hear stories that connect past to present, and help you see Aotearoa with fresh eyes.

Preview Location

Location 16

The Summit and Battery

You made it. Stop here for a while and check out that spectacular view, the sweeping vista all around you. I love it up here, and on a fine day you can see all the way to Great Barrier Island to the north, Coromandel to the east and the Waitakere ranges to the west. Its a sp... You made it. Stop here for a while and check out that spectacular view, the sweeping vista all around you. I love it up here, and on a fine day you can see all the way to Great Barrier Island to the north, Coromandel to the east and the Waitakere ranges to the west. Its a special spot.

The tallest structure you can safely stand on is just at the top of the hill - not the tank, or the bunker - you're not supposed to climb those - but a small wooden box that sits right at the top. I always make for this when I climb this maunga - go ahead, stand on it and have a 360 degree survey of the land and sea around you.

This is a good spot to also tell you about some of the legends of the mountain.

Over the years, North Head has been the subject of whispered rumours and bold claims — stories of secret chambers, buried weapons, and sealed-off tunnels hidden from public view. Some of these tales come from people who were actually here — cadets, locals, and Navy personnel stationed between the 1950s and 1980s.

One sailor recalled stumbling across a deep shaft near Cheltenham Beach in the late 1950s, where he saw what looked like parts of a wooden aircraft wing stored inside. Years later, he couldn’t find the spot again — the landscape had changed, or the entrance had vanished.

A former school cadet remembered a 1953 training camp, where he entered a large tunnel and saw military trucks parked underground. The tunnel mouth, however, was too small for the vehicles to have entered — suggesting a hidden access point.

Others describe iron rungs disappearing into the ground, branching passageways, locked doors, and sealed rooms. While many of these stories remain unverified, the consistency and detail have fuelled decades of speculation.

Whether myth, memory, or something in between, the mystery is part of what makes Maungauika so compelling. As you walk these slopes, remember — there may still be more beneath your feet than meets the eye.

It's not part of this tour but if you're curious, head down the steep stairs toward the buildings on the city side. There, you'll find signs and displays about the people and legends of North Head.

When you're done, come back here and resume the tour from the location "The Summit and Battery".

Otherwise, let's keep going. With the ocean to your left and the buildings to your right, head along the hill, around the right side of the railings, toward the gun emplacement, and carefully down to the road. If you turn right when you reach the road, you'll see a public restroom, if you'd like to freshen up quick.

I'll meet you a little further down the road. Read More

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Major Landmarks

TAINUI LANDING MEMORIAL MARAE
North Head
Torpedo Bay
Devonport Domain
Takarunga Road
Maungauika / North Head Historic Reserve
Old Guns Never Die
North Head Summit
Summit Battery (Fort Cautley)
North Head, South Battery
Cheltenham Beach
McHughs Of Cheltenham
Cheltenham Road
Torpedo Bay Cafe
Torpedo Bay Navy Museum

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Timber Trail, Devonport, Auckland 0624, New Zealand
Total distance

3km
Final location
64 King Edward Parade, Devonport, Auckland 0624, New Zealand
Distance back to start location

320.09m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour starts on King Edward Parade by the Tainui Landing Memorial. There should be plenty of parking on the street, and we will end near here too. Opposite the street to 44 King Edward Parade, Devonport, Auckland 0624, New Zealand.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

There is a cafe at the end of the walk, and a couple of public toilets along the route. You'll also have the opportunity to explore some tunnels!

Best time of day

From dawn until dusk; best to do this in daylight as there are some steps.

Precautions

There are stairs and some older paths; make sure you are steady on your feet. Bring a drink, hat and sunscreen in winter. We will be climbing a (dormant) volcano! Bring a torch or a charged cellphone if you want to go into the tunnels.

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“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”

Google Play Store

Last Updated

26 Jun 2025

Questions and Reviews

5 / 5

3 Ratings

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Guns, Tunnels and Māori Heritage: A North Head Summit Audio Tour

About the Tour

Tour Producer

David Downs

Preview Location

Location 16

The Summit and Battery

How VoiceMap Works

Major Landmarks

TAINUI LANDING MEMORIAL MARAE

North Head

Torpedo Bay

Devonport Domain

Takarunga Road

Maungauika / North Head Historic Reserve

Old Guns Never Die

North Head Summit

Summit Battery (Fort Cautley)

North Head, South Battery

Cheltenham Beach

McHughs Of Cheltenham

Cheltenham Road

Torpedo Bay Cafe

Torpedo Bay Navy Museum