This is one of my most favourite places to bring my dog, the lawns are so vast and the views are incredible here. Parking is easy as there is lots of free parking on site and navigating the grounds is also a cinch because of the walking track. I have never let my dog off the leash here it just doesn’t feel right for some reason? I am unsure what the official rules are regarding dogs but it’s better to be safe. The TSB Wallace Arts Centre also makes this place extra special standing majestically in the middle of the grounds. I like to pretend that it is my house and I’m simply taking a walk around my endless garden. If you are fitness focused, this place really can deliver as a walking or running destination as it is quite a large circuit with lots of inclines and declines! The views here as mentioned before also make it an excellent spot for a romantic picnic(tried and tested).
Jon T.
Place rating: 4 Auckland, New Zealand
Monte Cecilia lies semi-hidden, off Hillsborough and Mt Albert Road — with the best parking up by the Pah Homestead, where the TSB James Wallace Art Gallery resides. The park spreads out from this high point, curving away down to the road on one side, the school on the other, and looking out over the Manukau Harbor on the far right. The park has the biggest collection of Northern Hemisphere trees in New Zealand — and they are certainly big themselves. When I play disc golf here, I usually have to dedicate at least half an hour to climbing trees to retrieve discs– provided, of course, they aren’t at the very top of an old oak tree. There is a course available at : , but the map can be a bit confusing — so it’s worth contacting the contact available on that page to get shown around. Afterwards you can stop off for a coffee in the café, or head to Cameron Pools for a nice dip.
