There is a 10 minute loop track through native bush at the back of Yatton park. From the bottom of this loop the Waimapu Walkway takes you along the foreshore of the Waimapu Estuary with extensive views across to Hairini. Approximately 10 minutes from Yatton Park, the Esk Street Walkway runs from the foreshore parallel to Esk Street taking you back to Fraser Street. It is then just a small walk along Fraser Street back to the entrance of Yatton Park. If a longer walk is desired you can continue along the foreshore through to the Fraser Street Reserve.
In more recent times volunteers, under the leadership of Gordon Petersen, have spent many hours clearing the banks alongside the Waimapu River. Beautification and replanting of this area has also been undertaken.
The park also plays a commemorative role for the Tauranga district. Notable among the memorials are an olive tree for the war in Crete, Kate Sheppard camellias for the centennial of Women’s Suffrage and gardens denoting the relationship with our sister cities of Hitachi, Yantai and San Bernadino.
Further information on the historical nature of Yatton Park is available through the Tauranga City Libraries’ New Zealand Room.
