Arataki Visitor Centre - Waitakere Ranges

Arataki Visitor Centre - Waitakere Ranges

Arataki Visitor Centre - Waitakere Ranges
4.5
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
The Arataki Visitor Centre is the gateway to the Waitakere Ranges Regional park, with more then 16,000 hectares of native rainforest and coastline. Free entry to the Visitor centre for everyone.
Duration: < 1 hour
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles978 reviews
Excellent
705
Very good
246
Average
23
Poor
3
Terrible
1

leuveen
United Kingdom1,284 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
The centre itself is quite small, it has toilets, a shop and a couple of rooms. No food is available so make sure you bring your own. The paths around the centre are fantastic - beautiful forest full of trees, grasses and other plants.
Written 13 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Patricia C
Houston, TX124 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022
Make this place your first stop when visiting the Waitakere Ranges. The park rangers will inform which trails are currently closed due to kauri dieback disease. Lots of cool displays and some lovely souvenirs. Then head out to the Arataki Trail located near the visitor center and walk to the Cathedral Grove of kauri trees - absolutely magical to visit these ancient trees. The walk is easy and well-posted, should be easy for anyone of reasonable fitness. Please respect this place by cleaning your shoes going in and out. We sat and scrubbed our hiking boots at the cleaning station. Kauri dieback disease is terrible and has no known cure. You can actually see these wonderful trees bleeding. Totally enjoyed this walk - our very first one in New Zealand!
Written 28 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JoanieM620
Grantsburg, WI197 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2022
The Visitor Center has a lot of good information about the Waitakere ranges and some Maori stories about the area. The views of Auckland and the water were great. It was a good starting point for our tour of the rainforest.
Written 18 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jo W
6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022
This place is a real gem. We love coming here. Like the title says, its a fantastic, beautiful, informative place to visit.
Written 15 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Happy Travels at Felicity 888
Auckland, New Zealand55 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2020
One of the places that I would never grow tired of visiting or suggesting to my friends. It's free and it has a tiny space for kids to play. The views are magnificent and you can opt to have a Nature Trail if you have time to explore the plants and trees around.
Written 3 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Cam T
Birkenhead, New Zealand399 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020 • Friends
Great for families with and without kids alike!
Lovely setup and welcoming staff
Definitely worth stopping by and checking out - big thumbs up 👍
Written 26 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

KenVicLee
Huntington Beach, CA2,123 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
During our Auckland city tour our tour guide took us up into the Wairaere Ranges describing the flora and fauna. To highlight those things she also took us to the Arataki Visitor Center. where we could look out over the flora and see taxidermied examples of the fauna. Which is to say not only a stuffed possum but also explanations of the damage they had done to the environment as a non-native species.

It was fun to be staying in Auckland but it was very revealing to see what the surrounding area was about. A very pretty drive with some interesting stories along the way.
Written 9 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

floridaherbie
Marco Island, FL223 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020
This place offers good information about the Waitakere ranges, good amenities and a stunning view over parts of the ranges. Highly recommended as a start of any activities in the Waitakere ranges.
Written 22 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bob H
Mississauga, Canada17,997 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
My wife and I visited this site and thoroughly loved it especially all the information that is displayed. One can really learn a lot visiting this location.
Written 7 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jessie K
13 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
It is a great walk but I was very surprised that Auckland Council has not put up more signs with directions. It is very easy to get completely lost. There are some points where the road forks off in two directions with no signs or indication as to which one is going where. We ran into a lone cyclist at that point who fortunately told us which way to go since he seemed a regular. When we set off in the pointed direction he then called out to us to take a track on the left that branched off from that road that we would not even have noticed. While it is a beautiful walk, I believe that Auckland Council could do a lot better to put up more signs and directions to ensure that people don't get lost. Fortunately it was still daylight so we could at least see the tracks. We were in the ranges walking for about three hours trying to get back to the Arataki Visitor Center where we had parked our car and it was certainly not by choice or design.
Written 28 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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ARATAKI VISITOR CENTRE - WAITAKERE RANGES: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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