Maungawhau (Mt Eden) Tihi Boardwalk

The Maungawhau Tihi Boardwalk is a landmark project for Tāmaki Makaurau, enhancing access to one of Aotearoa’s most culturally and historically significant maunga. As a wahi tapu (sacred site), Maungawhau attracts over a million visitors annually. This initiative delivers a world-class summit experience while protecting the maunga’s mana and natural beauty for future generations.

Works included a highly durable steel frame boardwalk, clad with timber and web forge, designed to blend seamlessly with the landscape and follow the natural contours of the summit. We also repaired damaged tracks and removed the old communications building, as part of a broader site rehabilitation effort.

We worked in partnership with iwi, with cultural monitors overseeing works closely. Our teams used careful methods like hand-digging, ground screws instead of traditional piling, and relocating aggregate from historic kumara pits to avoid damaging this special site. Organic material from the site was reurposed into hügelkultur garden beds, which slowly break down over time. We also prioritised community wellbeing, hand-delivering materials instead of using a helicopter, which reduced noise and costs, and created local job opportunities.

The Maungawhau Tihi Boardwalk has received a variety of awards, including two Registered Master Landscapers awards for Landscapes of Distinction, and the Resource Management Law Association’s Project award.