Down Scenic Drive for several miles.
A right turn onto a road that is unknown to most.
Travel 10km on dirt and gravel - No tourist could find it alone.
It truly is the secret of the west .... Anawhata Beach!
On a busy day, you might share this secluded secret with 10 or 12 others. Generally, you can almost have it to yourself. At the end of the dirt road, after a 2 minute walk to the track and a 10 minute descent down the steep hill, this wild, ironsand beach is for the taking.
Steph (a work colleague and great friend) and I headed out on Friday and oh, what a day! The sun was so hot there just wasn't any escape except for a quick dip in the wild surf only to dry out but a few minutes later. We took lunch, books, drink and towels and set ourselves up for a good 3 hours! - not a bad effort for the hottest part of the day I might add!
Crunching on crackers with half melted camembert cheese, scoffing my Moro bar before it became inedible (heaven forbid!!), eating warm, salty (and slightly soggy!) ham on bread and listening to the radio attached to a very cool chiller bag (pardon the White-ism!).
Photo opportunities were a plenty - I wish you were all there with me as I'm building a great supply of photos but none of faces!! - the water was warm-ish (!!) and the walk back up the hill blew out the cobwebs (with a cough and a wheeze) and was great exercise for the soul (i.e. included regular stops... to take in the view of course... and took much longer than the 10 minute downhill!)
And to all who choose to seek, you will certainly find a very well kept secret handed down from Westie to Westie - and even the ocassional would-be Westie who tramples the tie-dyed, mullet wielding, Holden driving wilderness of Waitakere!
But, as beautiful as you are, Anawhata, I must revert to what a very wise (and full blooded Southie) friend once told me:
You can take the girl out of South Auckland but you can't take South Auckland out of the girl!!
... however tempting a mullet might just be!
White-ism - a quick-whitted, well-timed yet somewhat cheesy play on words suited specifically to the conversation of the moment.
David White (aka Whitey) is notorious among teaching circles for very bad yet surprisingly well-timed... jokes - for want of a better word! His legacy lives on in many, despite our efforts to desist!
