Ben's Ridge
At the end of the fern path you can cross the bridge and turn right and return to the education room and gazebo or continue down to explore further. The track descends to a deep gully carpeted with the New Zealand begonia, or parataniwha. A boardwalk leads to wooden steps leading to the Birkenhead Rotary Club's Kauri Grove.
Along the track past the kauri is the scented fern (Paesia scaberula), which covers quite an extensive area and further on out into the open is the upper part of Ben's Ridge. In the period between the 1920s and 1960s a family named Townsend lived at the top of what was a cow paddock.
Mr Townsend, Ben, used to visit the Fishers and instead of walking all the way along the road he chose to walk down the ridge and through the bush. It came to be called Ben's Ridge and the Committee chose to retain the name.
Cows grazed in this area until the 1950s and in the early days the Fishers dug a deep hole approximately seven metres long and three metres wide as a watering hole for the animals. In recent times the area was made into a wetland.
Ben's Ridge is home to one of New Zealand's most extensive coprosma collections, developed by one of the original committee and trust members, Nev Arbury. The coprosma collection is dedicated to his late wife, Jackie Arbury. In addition there is a kowhai collection, a divaricating shrub collection, Chatham Island, Kermadec Island and grass collections.
There is a seat at the top of the ridge from which to relax and contemplate such a special reserve within the city-scape.
The track returns through typical regenerating Auckland rain forest, kanuka, tanekaha, kiekie, supplejack and nīkau are a few of the species there. Wooden steps lead across a stream and ascend on the other side, where the track proceeds through a grove of rimu planted by the Fishers in the 1920's. From here the track is pretty well level going and emerges lower down Kauri Road about thirty metres from the car park.