Orakei Basin is a volcanic crater, formed 85,000 years ago, with seawater entering from Hobson Bay.
A walkway encircles the basin, providing excellent opportunities for exercise both strenuous and gentle. It is ideal for dog walkers.
Every day people of all ages can be seen enjoying the walkway. For the most part the terrain is gentle, with permanent all-weather paths being introduced. The walkway threads its way through regenerated bush, across grassy reserves and over streams.
The walkway takes around 30 minutes to walk. There are five points of access, one of them immediately adjacent to Teal.
The walkway incorporates boardwalks that take you over tributary streams that feed into the basin.
One feature of the walkway is the variety of birdlife, with herons, shags, cormorants and kingfishers, as well as land-based birds such as kereru, tui, shining cuckoos and grey warblers.