Awhitu Peninsula: A delightful point of view

The Manukau Heads Lighthouse on the Awhitu Peninsula. Photo / Greg Bowker

Catherine Smith enjoys the beauty and bounty of the Awhitu Peninsula.

On the weekend of the Super City elections, it seemed fitting to be driving to one of the most remote corners of Auckland. The Awhitu Peninsula juts north of Waiuku between the Manukau Harbour and the wild west Tasman.

Michelle Wilson, a dedicated foodie, market organiser and mother of five, had invited my food-loving husband Greig and I to poke around the region's food and history. The last time I'd been through this part had been as a child, holidaying at Big Bay and Orua Bay. I had a lot to catch up on.

"The Manukau was known as the waka highway - there'd be 100 waka criss-crossing the harbour in a day. As there was portage through to the Waikato River there were some 300 craft working in this area," points out Charmaine Pountney, one time city educator and self-described "stirrer" and now, with her partner Tanya Cumberland, a stirrer of chutneys and jams at their permaculture property Earthtalk.

The mana whenua, Ngaati Te Ata, have three marae on the peninsula, but local stories tell of rich hunting grounds for moa, with plenty of food to be found in the kauri and puriri forests and the sea. Today it's seafood: scallops at low tide, flounder, mullet and kahawai, but you have to be a local with a boat, as sadly there is nowhere to buy such bounty.

Instead, we were happy to lunch and talk with Tanya and Charmaine: eggs and produce straight from the garden, boosted with chutneys from their pantry and sweet babaco and cherimoya (custard apple).

Self guided walks through the permaculture garden - designed by Kay Baxter of Koanga gardens -uncover a sheltered sub-tropical plantation of bananas, sugar cane and paw paw, and heritage flax plants used by local women for weaving.

We wished we could have taken the bush track to the beach or lingered in the farmstay cabins. Instead we bravely headed to Wild West Horse Trekking where the urban cowboy and I were led by Kelsey and Cindy through heart-stopping hill country for a canter on the black sands of the Tasman shore. The ponies were sure-footed, the scenery breathtaking.

Dinner and accommodation was an unexpected treat. Wendy Bobsien runs an organic cafe in Pukekohe, weekends at the top of a hill on the west end of the peninsula and supplies her world-famous-in-Awhitu kumara and smoked kawhai pies to the region's Wild Foods Festival (every Labour Weekend).

While Wendy effortlessly whipped up dinner we watched the sun set on the beach and heard how the community feeds itself and the big city.

In the morning, local historian Paul Dixon was keen to show us around the Awhitu Lighthouse, loving rebuilt by volunteers earlier this century. The lookout gives a stunning view of history - the Manukau Bar where the Orpheus sank in 1863, ancient Maori and more recent bullock tracks through the hills.

As we drove back around the tip of the peninsula in the sunny spring weather it was hard not to feel like we were in some golden-tinted television commercial for that big phone company - little golden coves lined with pohutukawa, vintage baches with row-boats on their lawns, minute churches on windy hills.

Awhitu means "longing to return", and I know just what they mean.

INFORMATION

Where to stay: In true country style, the Awhitu Peninsula has a great selection of family- and budget-friendly accommodation.

Cabins and camping grounds at picturesque Orua Bay and Big Bay are clean, welcoming and right near the water. Big Bay has a shop and takeaway bar. Rates start at $24 for tent sites, cabins from $70.

The ARC's Awhitu Regional Park has a 1930s bach to rent from $82 - 123 a night. It is just inside the regional park. Ph 09 366 2000.

Earthtalk has B&B cabins in the midst of the gardens, with stunning water views. Rates start at $80 to $100 a night. 60 Kauri Rd, RD 4. Ph 09 235 1375.

Bookabach has a variety of baches.

Where to eat: In summer, Liz LaSorsa runs Awhitu Eats, fresh menus on selected Sundays at the Awhitu Social Club (Awhitu Central Rad) from 12 to 4pm. Ph Liz LaSorsa 09 235 1518.

Buy citrus and avocado in season from the farm gate of Citropia Citrus Orchard, 171 Brook Rd (same road as the Awhitu Golf Club), ph (09) 235 1187, or pick up honey from Doug's Peninsula Honey 92 Grahams Beach Rd, Awhitu, ph (09) 235 1130.

Where to ride: Wild West Adventures, ph (09) 947 7120, 150b Hamilton Rd, Awhitu Central.