A Rainforest Retreat Near Downtown Auckland

 Friends of my brother decided to give him a special treat to celebrate the significant birthday they couldn't share with him last year due to covid restrictions and I was lucky enough to be invited to join them.  The plan was to surprise him, so with a good deal of subterfuge, and vague promises of lunch at a beach on the west coast of Auckland, he and his friends headed off from downtown.   I was to meet them half way, to surprise my brother who wasn't expecting me.

The Nihotupu Dam and Manukau Harbour from Arataki Visitor Centre

Auckland is a beautiful city ringed by golden sand beaches to the east and framed by a glorious rain forest and wild, black sand beaches to the west. The Scenic Drive, through the bush clad Waitakere Ranges to the west coast, is famous and is reached within 30 minutes of downtown Auckland. I was to meet my brother, sister in law and their friends at the the Arataki Visitor Centre half way along the  drive.  The centre, located at a spectacular vantage point with wide views of the bush, forest and ocean, has as its aim the education of the public about conservation and how best to protect our native bush. You can also get information there about the numerous hiking tracks in the area. It is very interesting, beautifully laid out and well worth a visit.

After exclamations of "What are you doing here?" etc, from my brother,  and a nonchalant "Oh well you might as well join us for lunch", from his friends, we all set off to the  west coast surf beach of Piha for lunch.  It had been quite a few years since I had been there and I was taken, once again, by its wild beauty.  Lion Rock, which really does look like a crouching lion looking out to sea, is the major feature of the beach. A jaunt along the length of the beach and then it was time for a lunch of hearty pumpkin soup and bread fresh from the oven at the very warm and welcoming Piha Cafe.

Piha Beach and Lion Rock

Driving back along Scenic Drive, with my brother thinking that his surprise was completed, we took a detour to The Waitakere Resort and Spa hotel.  Its beautifully maintained, and very long, driveway winds down through native trees, ferns and bush. It is a sublime entry to the hotel and I couldn't stop myself from repeating "Wow", "Wow" out loud.

Waitakere Resort and Spa

The resort has a large hunting lodge type lounge where we enjoyed drinks before surprising my brother with the news that we were all staying the night.  He was thrilled and taken aback, so it was a perfect surprise.

The cosy lounge where a fire is lit every evening

We had a wonderful afternoon and evening.  Our rooms had spectacular views out over the bush and right across to the city in the distance.  We strolled the lovely gardens, had champagne and nibbles in my room and dinner in the restaurant.  The meal and service was faultless.  As if that wasn't enough when we went back to our rooms at the end of the evening we had a panoramic view of a large fireworks display on the outskirts of Auckland. The perfect end to a surprise birthday.

View from my room. Downtown Auckland in the distance, centre right

The next morning we awoke to drizzle so, after a leisurely breakfast, set off for home.  If there is one thing covid has done it has opened our eyes  to what there is to explore close to home.  I had been on the Scenic Drive and to Piha and other west coast beaches countless times but I never knew of the existence of the Waitakere Resort and Spa.  It is such a lovely, peaceful sanctuary in the Auckland rain forest, so close to home, that I have no doubt I will go there again.

The Skeleton Coast, Shipwrecks, Seals and Spitzkoppe - Namibia

 Another browse through my diary of the trip I took to Africa a few years ago.

A late start out of Swakopmund today as we wait for a spare part for the truck.  At last, repairs done, we are on our way travelling through vast, flat and featureless golden sands. There's not much to see so we spend the time chatting, dozing and joking. We are a happy, companiable bunch.

We travelled across this sand for hours

We stop at the lower reaches of the Skeleton Coast and walk across the sand to view a shipwrecked trawler.  It is a recent wreck and looks eerie wallowing on its side at the edge of the breakers.  The Skeleton Coast is named for the bleached whale and seal bones scattered along its length but it is also infamous for the number of ship wrecks that have occurred there over the years.  The combination of an inhospitable climate, constant rolling surf and regular sea fogs have made the coast fearsome for sailors and the subject of myth and legend.

An abandoned, shipwrecked trawler wallowing in the waves makes an eerie sight

We can smell our next stop before we can see it.  This is the Cape Cross seal colony, home to approximately 80,000 seals.  At first it is hard to discern them but as we get closer they become a seething mass crammed together on the rocks. A walkway takes us over and around them.  It is quite a sight but the smell is putrid and I am pleased I have a perfumed wipe to hold over my nose.

Cape Cross was named by Diego Cao, a Portuguese explorer who landed there in 1486 and planted a cross on his landing spot.

We are happy to leave the seal colony and have a picnic lunch further up the coast beside great crashing waves. Several of us run into the icy water to refresh ourselves and have a paddle, at least, in the Atlantic.

Hientjes Bay

After lunch we head inland again, passing through the strange little settlement of Hientjes Bay, built entirely on sand, we wonder who lives there and why. Our guide tells us it is a fishing village, After a while the scenery begins to change.  There is now some vegetation and in the distance we can see large red mountain peaks rising out of the Namib desert.  We are heading to Spitzkoppe, at 1728 metres it is the highest in the range.  We will camp overnight there. Spitzkoppe, like all the mountains in this area is more than 120 million years old, solid granite and is referred to as the Matterhorn of Namibia because of its similar shape to the Swiss mountain. 

As we arrive at the entrance to the camp site our truck becomes bogged down in the deep sand. We all climb out and the men in our group start digging the truck out.  After several attempts and with a good push from everyone the truck is finally free and we continue on to the camp.

Uh oh!  Our bogged truck, a fact of life in Africa

We  drive between the giant red mountains and into a canyon to our stunning camp site.  There are no facilities here, no water or showers and just a long drop toilet but we are awe struck by the setting and after pitching our tents set out to explore.

We entertain ourselves making photographed rock drawings

We clamber about over the rocks and pose to photograph our own version of rock drawings.  We sit on the warm red rock and watch the sun go down behind the mountains.  The sun is always a bright red ball as it goes down in this part of Africa but we have noticed the colour doesn't really spread across the sky.

Our truck in the stunning granite Spitzkoppe mountains

We spend the most magical evening sitting around the camp fire, chatting, singing and telling stories under a spectacular starry sky. 

We are way out in the wilderness and it is absolutely wonderful.