KEY POINTS:
The distant rumble of jumbo jets far overhead is one of the few reminders that passing along the Awhitu Peninsula is a major transport route.
Such is the quiet charm of this isolated headland on the south side of the Manukau Heads that it is easy to forget
how close it is to urban Auckland - at least as the plane now flies or the boat once plied.
It's a drive of over an hour to the peninsula from the city, down State Highway 1, then across through Waiuku, but by plane you're on a supersonic highway heading from the airport up the harbour and either banking steeply to fly south or straight ahead across the Tasman.
Unseen below is the wreck of the Orpheus, which ran aground in 1863 claiming 189 lives in New Zealand's worst maritime disaster. The rebuilt Manukau Heads lighthouse stands sentinel again - post-Orpheus it beamed the way across the shifting sands of the bar to the busy port of Onehunga.
The west coast harbour entrance is starkly beautiful - and still treacherous - but surprisingly many Auckland residents get no closer than the flyover.
On ground, the appreciation of this essential transport route is altogether different, spiced with stories of the past and a sense of the dramatic landscape from which pioneering paths were forged. Maori crossed the peninsula and the Ngati Te Ata people still lay claim to its lands, pioneers developed its farms and now a new generation of lifestylers is being seduced by its rugged charms.
A trip to Awhitu opens up an all but forgotten chapter in the greater Auckland story and would well suit history or geography buffs, but for those looking simply for a quiet beach and a nascent food and wine destination there's enough appeal for a weekend away. And it's a lot closer than Aucklanders' usual playgrounds to the north and on the Coromandel Peninsula.
The monthly Awhitu Country Markets is a drawcard and, while this is a good prompt for a day outing, extending the trip into an overnighter allows time to relax and sight-see.
To this end, a group of locals, under the umbrella Awhitu Enterprise organisation, is pushing to add tourism to the region's cottage industries. With Michelle Wilson at the helm, they're an enthusiastic bunch. They have conducted trial weekend boat trips from Cornwallis across to Orua Bay, linking up with the local school bus which is put to good use ferrying visitors round the main attractions. Those in cars can self-navigate but we found the tour - run only occasionally - a great way to orientate ourselves.
We were driven through winding peninsula roads to the lighthouse where local historian Paul Dixon gave us a rundown on its rebuilding to 1874 plans, largely a labour of love from committed enthusiasts. After 20 years of neglect, the lighthouse reopened a year ago, complete with Lalique prisms, each weighing nearly 25kg under a dome of 2.5 tonnes.
Signalman Evan McGregor still guides ships through the bar from his house under the decommissioned lighthouse.
Dixon, who has written a history called Backbreak Peninsula has plenty of theories about the area's early settlement and reckons some of the unaccounted missing from the Orpheus may well have been among the early pakeha settlers. One chap, Cranky Jack, apparently lived in a gully for 20 years, mad from isolation, while above thriving communities were established that once saw six primary schools where one only remains now.
From the lighthouse, it was back inland to the markets for lunch, where local crafts and produce can be bought.
City escapee and noted educationist Charmaine Poutney was there selling her organic produce with partner Tanya Cumberland. Like Dixon, they offer tailored trips for special interest groups and farm-stays for women. The couple are enthusiastic champions of their adopted home and have developed a fine organic property Earthtalk, specialising in interesting sub-tropical crops. At the market, their samples of the casimiroa or icecream fruit from Central America were eagerly eaten.
Our tour headed out past regenerating bush through reclaimed swampland at Waimatuku to the windswept black sand beach at Hamilton's Gap, then back towards the harbour side high above the tranquil regional park. At Awhitu Wines, we tasted, then bought, the syrah and chardonnay, and had the chance to chat to owners Wendy and Dave Hendl about their passion.
Our group was returned to Orua Bay for the short boat trip back to Cornwallis on Manukau Harbour Cruises. Geoff and Sarah Williams run cruises and a water taxi service that delivers holidaymakers to the bays dotted along the harbour. A local, Geoff Williams, knows the sights and is a friendly guide, plus you get to step off the boat, right on to the sand and you're there.
We stayed on for a night at the roomy Orua Bay Beach Motor Camp's motel, but be warned: without a car it pays to plan ahead. There's a daytime cafe up the hill at the Orua Bay Birdpark and a little shop that closes early that sells the basics, but if you're hoping to dine you need to BYO. At this end of the peninsula there are no restaurants, although the Awhitu store does takeaways and the golf course puts on bistro-style meals on a Friday night. The community social club hosts a Sunday brunch.
After breakfast - which the camp caters for - we wandered along the beach, envying those with holiday homes along a tranquil shore that has seen so much pass by. As Wilson said: "We've got a lot of natural assets here."
Hers is a message of sustainable development driven by the local community at its own pace. "We want people to come out here and enjoy themselves and spend some money and then go home happy."
So we packed up our bottles of wine and our organic fruit, boarded the boat, and left convinced there was plenty more to see on a journey worth making again.
