livewire

Anyone who is coming to Auckland for work may find this of some use.

I've lived on the North Shore for 18 months but have decided to leave and head over to the west. Although the shore has good facilities and wonderful views over the gulf I have always found it far too densely urbanised and "packed in" and not at all the spacious NZ I thought I was coming here to live in.

I just wanted to say if you're wanting open spaces and fresh air (without being surrounded by subdivided sections) have a look at the western corridor between Riverhead and Helensville. Land is much cheaper there, there is a more relaxed atmosphere and you'll get more for your money. It has been hiding its light a bit but people are begining to catch on to what a great area it is.

The commute by car into the CBD is about the same, probably less, than it is from Browns Bay and you'll spend a lot less time rolling along at 5km an hour. The first part of the journey into the CBD can be done at 80-100 km/hr which is much better than joining the queue at Turners car auctions every morning.

There is also a train service into Britomart and Newmarket from Waitakere and plans are bring made to extend the commuter service out as far out as Waimauku and Helensville.

The area is famous for its many vinyards and there are some lovely cafes and restaurants to sample. The beach cafe at Muriwai is also worth a visit, as is the beach itself and the gannet colony. There is also plenty of equestrian activity in the area if you like riding and there is Woodhill forest with its bike trails.

There are also very good schools, especially in Waimauku and plans to build a new one sometime in 2009. If your kids want to go to school elsewhere (eg. on the shore) there are plenty of school buses that come this way and will pick them up for around $1.40 a trip.

lapsed kiwi

It sounds nice - we felt the same about the North Shore, and ended up in Orewa which is less packed in and has a quieter atmosphere. We go over to Helensville and the west coast forest and beach southwest of there quite often - great dog and mountain-bike country. I do like my 2-minute drive to the beach from the house in Orewa though, it makes after-work swims a realistic option.

livewire

Orewa is lovely, it has a wonderful vibe. A family friend lives right on the seafront there and can walk straight out of the front door onto the beach. We looked at this area too but wanted a bit of dirt, would've gone out as far as Puhoi which is also a terrific location.

Our dream was always to have a lifestyle block and we couldn't find anything in our price bracket at the time, hence we looked west. Lucky to find what we did as prices are starting to rise steeply there too.

It's very peaceful here, all I can hear are cicadas in the Kanuka forest opposite and skylarks. Also saw half a dozen Harriers soaring around the tree tops just this morning. Absolute bliss.

uk+kiwi

Wherebouts is this in relation to say Titirangi? And what are these places like -on the coast, urnab etc?

Agree with everything you say about the North Shore (it's not the area hubbie grew up in - his words) being far too overcrowded and with tiny sections now. Didn't like our first week there when we visited at Xmas but then it has a relaxed vibe that grew on us and we ended up quite liking some of it, especially houses with wide sea and urban views.

So suspecting we would feel this, as this is always what we say when we visit, we headed over to Titirangi & surrounding areas to access the West, but found it too crammed in (the bush) and also without family friendly beaches - is this not the case? I hope you have found otherwise? Also thought Titirangi was just too small, although it has a lovely feel to it. Loved Piha, but then everything with a sea view is over $1m and houses very rarely come onto the market as there aren't many of them to start with. Also I suspect it's really a bit small.

So would love to hear anything else about Riverhead - Helensville.

Paladin

Livewire, thanks so much for this info, VERY helpful!!!

My wife & I have been having this exact discussion of late, and having just got our PR it is even more important!

She wants our 2 yr old to go to a Steiner school and apparently there is one out west of AKL whereas I want to be near the gulf for the possibility of a diving Instructor job, BUT it sounds like the commute back across would be fine. CHEERS!

uk+kiwi

The Steiner school you mention is in Titirangi.

Paladin

Cheers!!!

Dave

livewire

I agree with your comments about Titirangi it does feel quite hemmed in there. But if you head north just a bit the countryside opens up and there are some lovely rural locations eg: Oratia and up towards the Waitakere Ranges, the countryside there is much more like Albany Heights with rolling fields, hills and lush bush, plenty of space to "swing a cat".

Head up the Western Motorway to Riverhead (a traditional Kiwi village with a lot of community spirit) and then on to Kumeu and Huapai which run along either side of the state highway. Business here is predominately agricultural,timber and building trades, but some upmarket interior design shops are starting to creep in and there are a good number of cafes as I've already said, plus all the usual facitlities such as banks, doctors, dentist, video store, garages, hot bread shop etc.

The countryside here is green and flat in places but rises to rolling hills and conifer forests. A lot of wealth is generated by the wine producers in the area and many of the vinyards are open for the public to test a glass, or two, and stop for a very pleasant lunch. Bees on line also does very tasty food and you can watch the beekeeper handle the bees if you're there at the right time of day.

To the east of Kumeu is the Old North Road and this area has really gone up market in the last year or so - many lifestyle blocks starting at around 2 acres, set on rolling hills with extensive views over the township, Riverhead forest and the far Waitakeres.

As you go north out of Huapai the next village is Waimauku - a very pretty village, again split by the main road. The old part is to the east and the newer on the west. This is where the road to Muriawi Beach splits off to the west and the countryside along it is sublime.

Muriwai beach is a smaller village, with a good proportion of bachs but quite a few people live there all year round. The highest houses have probably the best views of the Ocean in the whole of the north island and would certainly surpass those from Taylor's mistake in SI, or those that look out over the southern end of 90 Mile Beach. The vista is so expansive that I'm sure that you can see the curvature of the earth, the dark sands of the beach and the miles of breaking surf are very dramatic - not to be missed at sunset. Woodhill forest western margins run down to the coast here and extends for miles northwards alongside the dark sands.

Back on the main highway and north to Helensville you start to leave the rolling hills and enter the flat lands which run into the Kaipara Harbour, it's very much like Kent here. Helensville is similar to Kumeu in many ways but just starting to pick up and get into the cafe scene a bit more. There is a senior school and a decent sized supermarket.

Both Helensville and Kumeu hold agricultural and produce shows (A & Ps), Helensville's is coming up a week on Sat and I think Kumeu's is sometime in March. These are wonderful events with some traditional activities such as sheep shearing, axe men competitions, horse riding, animal showing etc. plus a few funfair type attractions. My kids love them and are looking forward to going again this year and I go to oh-ah over the alpacas and silkies.

I am amazed that rural life of such quality can not only exist but thrive so close to Auckland, I think Rodney council works hard to maintain the spirit of these places and the pressure is always on to fight off the sort of over development that we've seen on the north shore. All power to them.

uk+kiwi

[QUOTE=livewire]I agree with your comments about Titirangi it does feel quite hemmed in there.

Great post and thanks. We are Rodney fans. Karma to you. Carmen.

Paladin

Geez Livewire, you've got more info than a Lonely Planet Guide!!!

Soooooooo helpful, cheers!!!

Hey why don't you write publish a guide for migrants on North Island!!!!

Could be a good seller.

Thanks again for your efforts in typing posts of epic lengths!!

Dave

livewire

Thanks Dave, you're welcome .

Sounds like a good idea but I'd rather just post on here, if you need any more info just say and I'll be pleased to help.

extrameant

This is what I will miss most about NZ. This is about 15km north of murawai, looking up towards kaipera harbour. There is a bit of a problem with bikers breaking the law and just going where they please, mind you.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/attac...id=24078&stc=1

Woodhill forest was planted to stop the sand dunes from advancing inland. it looks pretty whacky if you go to the back of the dunes where they are engulfing the trees.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/attac...id=24084&stc=1

Did you know that auckland was almost started on the kaipera instead of where it ended up? I think the kaipera heads proved too dodgy for the boats though, as the sand moves so much. The kaipera harbour gets pretty warm in summer. I have measured 32C at the shore. Thats why there are loads of sharks that go in there to breed in summer.

Here's anther photo of the area, 10k north of the first and inland a few ks this time. Met that same bad biker guy, small country.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/attac...id=24083&stc=1

livewire

That's interesting, do you know what sort of sharks are up there? There are often signifcant numbers of hammerheads off Long Bay beach (over on the east coast) during the year, I don't know where they breed. I've seen quite large rays and kingfish but no sharks yet.

Unfortunately after some storms a few months back a lot of sand was lost from Muriwai beach. So much that it under mined some of the cliff path up to the gannet colony and the lifeguard hut.

Bikers and/or hoons seem to be a problem in a quite a few areas and many of the car parks at the beaches are closed later on in the evenings to try to prevent mischief. Seems to be a wide spread problem unfortunately.

Good photos.

extrameant

I was told it is alsorts of sharks that go in there to breed. I had a quick search to see if any species were mentioned on the internet and all I could find was that both the manukau and kaipara were breeding grounds for sharks but that the kaipara had much cleaner water so was more popular.

Actually, someone told me it was quite dangerous in summer, but not many people swim in that harbour as it is quite muddy. Supposedly the great white shark doesn't come up that far north because it likes cold water. Dunedin is where everyone gets eaten cos its very cold water. There was a story of a great white hanging about north of kaitaia a few years ago, but i don't know if was true. Right enough there definitely was a big one caught off waiheke a year or two ago.
I knew someone who went kite fishing in the open sea not far from the photo and he caught a couple of really big things, one being a big shark and the other a huge stingray. He gave up after that because he felt it was very cruel. it took so long to bring in the line (1500+ metres) that the poor fishies were so exhausted he didn't think they would live. he let them go and tried to get water through their gills, but he thinks they would die. He caught a few big snappers too (which he would have eaten), but they were bitten in half by something huge. From what he was telling me, there must be hundreds of big things out there.

The bike park is right beside the beach, so it is easy for them to get onto the beach and along the shore (and up into the woods further north usually). The shore is of course considered a public road. In a way AK is very lucky to have this, because the bikes, cars, and quads would all go somewhere anyway, and the fact they are semi allowed here is good. Nothing but sand could stand the amount of traffic. It doesn't really erode, it jst falls back into the tracks and they all just stick to pre made tracks. I admit they could do a lot of damage to the dunes but I never met anyone off the paths. They are due to move the bike park inland away from the coast, but it is probably too late because everyone knows the paths now.

I found a pump action sawn off shotgun in there well off the tracks somewhere. it hadn't been dumped long and i managed to get a signal to phone the police to see if they wanted to come and get it. They asked me to just hand it in as I was passing on my way home. I guess the police aren't going to bother with a bike driving round a comercially harvested forest planted on sand dunes if they can't be bothered to check something like that out. I had a hunt round for money for a while until I figured there might be something a bit more gruesome. probably much more likely to be the latter!

mike&chrissy

What exactly is a Steiner school? We have a 3 year old and want her to go to a good school if and when we move out there?
I see you are in the Cotswolds we are not too far from you in Evesham. Family comes from beautiful Broadway. Anyway I digress. Education is important and I've heard that the education system in N.Z. is second to none. Can anyone else verify that?
Cheers
Chrissy