A permanent orienteering course consists of a map of an area with a series of checkpoints (known as ‘controls’) marked on it. These correspond to control markers on the ground such as posts or orange and white labels. Participants navigate around the course, practising their map reading and exploring the area at their own pace whether that be walking with the kids, jogging with the family dog or livening up some run training. These courses are available for anyone to try or practice orienteering at any time of the year. Regional and local parks, school grounds, and forests are all suitable for a permanent orienteering course.
The wider Auckland area has several permanent orienteering courses set up in Regional parks, maintained by Auckland Council. Maps can often be found at the notice board at the park entrance, or can be downloaded here.
North of Auckland
North West Orienteering Club has been involved in the generation of the following permanent orienteering maps.
Atiu Creek Regional Park is 113 kilometres north of Auckland CBD: the property lies on the Kaipara Harbour, on the Okahukura (Tapora) peninsula. There are 40 controls spread over the park. You can download the information and map below, or get them from the notice board at the park.
Mahurangi Regional Park consists of steep farmland and scattered bush, 65 kilometres north of Auckland's CBD, six kilometres past Wenderholm Regional Park. There are 20 controls spread over the park. The park is divided by the Te Muri estuary. The Te Muri estuary can only be crossed two hours either side of low tides - please check tides before you start the course. Markers 1-11 in the north are separated from markers 12-20 in the south by the Te Muri estuary.
Shakespear Regional Park is a farm and nature park in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is located at the tip of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, and is named after the Shakespear family which bought the land in the 1880s from local Maori. The park includes the Tamaki Leadership Centre, a Royal New Zealand Navy base.
Address: 1501 Whangaparaoa Road, Army Bay, Auckland 0930
We have added a permanent set of orienteering markers at Shakespear Park (October 2023). These consist of small wooden markers with a number followed by a two letter code - e.g. 58-JP.
The control sites are basic ( yellow/ orange difficulty level) and set as a rogaine - but you can also select some controls and design your own orienteering course. Some parts of the map are physically challenging.
You can download the map - ideally print at A3 size for correct scale, but it is readable at A4, for those without fading eyesight!
If you/ parents want to test their kids or make it a competition, then a suggested scoring is on the answer sheet. For the full set of Rogaine controls you could allow a suggested time of 3 hours, but subzsets in kless time are also options.
Please note : Areas marked with Pink stripes are Out of Bounds ( other than official walking tracks) - to protect native bush from Kauri dieback disease etc.
Āwhitu Regional Park is 104 kilometres or an hour and a half south from central Auckland. There are 29 markers spread over the park, including an example marker by the noticeboard.
Duder Regional Park is located on the pōhutukawa-fringed Whakakaiwhara Peninsula, which cuts out into the Tamaki Strait. You may feel like you're on your own island as you enjoy the 360 degree views of the surrounding hills, Hunua Ranges and Hauraki Gulf islands.
There are 24 orienteering markers spread over the park.
