After a $200,000 renovation, the adjacent three-bedroom house offers the comparative luxury of a shower, fridge and gas cooker.
The spirit of roughing it is not completely gone. Parties of up to six still need to bring their sleeping bags - and, in this solar-powered house, a torch for reading at night.
"It's next door to a Hillary Track campsite so provides an opportunity for a comfortable bed instead of pitching a tent," said Auckland Council parks and heritage chairwoman Sandra Coney.
"It's a central stepping off place for Piha or Bethells-Te Henga."
The house was bought as part of park extensions in the late 1980s.
From the verandah are wide views of the bush and hills that have revegetated after being harvested for kauri 80 years ago.
A track leads to a lookout deck with views over Piha and Lion Rock.
Ms Coney said the house joins 16 in the "Bach Escapes" network in regional parks available for the public to book.
Similar to other parks cottages in West Auckland, the Craw Homestead costs $128 a night to rent in the peak season and $85 off peak.
"The baches have been an outstanding success for the council and we are trying to bring more on stream," said Ms Coney.
The winding gravel road to Anawhata passes the access to Whites Beach where Sir Edmund Hillary and his family had a bach.
At the opening of the Hillary Trail two years ago, his family recalled that Sir Edmund went there to prepare for his expeditions, marching the black sands of the surf beaches of Piha, attacking the rocks at the southern end and then returning to Anawhata.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The Craw Homestead at Anawhata sleeps a maximum of six people and costs $128 a night to rent in the peak season (October to May, plus all Friday and Saturday nights and public holidays) and $85 off peak (weekdays June to September).
