Outdoors: Where bush meets land from the sea

West coast harbour headlands are by nature wild and rugged spots but none more so than Whatipu at the remote northern head of the Manukau Harbour.

Here, bush-clad hills plummet more than 200m into the harbour or the broad sandy fringe of coastline.

The Tasman Sea would once have pounded over this swathe of sand, marsh and dune lakes but the land is slowly reclaiming the sea. I have twice arrived at Whatipu in the dark having trudged through this long and exposed section of the Waitakere ranges coast at the conclusion of a marathon one-day trek from Muriwai.

We tried to keep as close as possible to the route of the old logging tramline along the foreshore from Karekare but often as not would be knee-deep in water than runs off the ranges and collects behind the sand dunes.

The European settlers who plundered the Waitakeres for kauri timber, hauled the spoils down the coast by steam train to a wharf cut into the rock at Paratutae Island just inside the harbour entrance at Whatipu.

The wharf was sheltered but getting there was anything but for the sailing ships and scows who came to pick up the huge logs. They had to run the gauntlet of a treacherous harbour bar that has claimed many ships including that of HMS Orpheus in 1863 with the loss of 189 lives.

So bush and sea are the Whatipu canvas on which we elect to spend a day out getting a bit of winter mud on our boots and a salt-laden wind blowing the city cobwebs out of our hair.

There is another reason, too. Whatipu, including about 6km of rugged coastline and 800ha of sandflats at the mouth of the Manukau Harbour, has been vested in the Auckland Regional Council after two years of negotiations with the Crown to become part of the regional park network.

The land was designated unallocated crown land and the council has been its de facto manager for the past 20 years. It is planning a major planting programme in the area and to upgrade the historic Whatipu Lodge.

The lodge, built in 1867, is just one of the historic features at the remote beach. There is also a series of caves, some so large they were used last century by timber mill workers for socials - one even had a wooden dance floor.

Most of Whatipu beach did not exist before 1900. A 1km strip of sandflats between the cliffs and the sea formed in about 30 years, much to the delight of the endangered dotterel and variable oystercatchers which nest on the wetlands.

But for this trip we head inland on the Kura Track, following the Whatipu Stream up the Whatipu Valley where several fortified pa once commanded the high points. From here the Kawerau could watch for invading Ngati Whatua or Ngapuhi.

Our mission is peaceful and so is the stream which is more in the nature of a bubbling brook.

Stream bashing tends to be an easy way into the bush because of the way floods usually clear natural pathways along the stream margin. The floods also seem to have deposited large boulders at convenient points so that with care you can cross the stream with dry feet.

Eventually the trail climbs towards the Puriri Ridge Track on the southern ridge but first we want to continue upstream to where, we have been told, there is a waterfall worth seeing.

We pass a small stream coming down Rimu Gully and then turn into Jones Stream. Now there are large boulders to clamber over and the stream is flanked by cliff faces that are too steep and rocky for vegetation.

More scrambling and there is the waterfall, although it is actually a series of cascades, the last one being virtually impassable. At the foot of each cascade are deep pools that in the height of summer would bring a welcome relief.

Back on the Kura Track the trail climbs a set of reasonably gentle switchbacks until it reaches the ridge and a junction with the Puriri Ridge Track. Head north and this will take you to Mt Donald Mclean and panoramic views of Auckland city, the southern Waitakere Ranges and the Manukau Harbour.

Our destination is back to our Whatipu starting point and we turn south to Whatipu Rd and the start of the Puriri Ridge Track and, across the road, the end of the 3km Omanawanui Track.

It may not be far but the estimated walk time of around two hours and 15 minutes is not overly generous. On our left at the beginning of the track is Destruction Gully where the Kawerau suffered heavy losses to the Ngati Whatua.

There is an element of frustration in the route ahead because Wonga Wonga Bay just inside Paratutae Island seems almost at our feet on one side of the ridge, and Whatipu and the carpark where we left our car, on the other.

First we have to climb Omanawanui's 241m, twice drop about 100m and then climb it again before reaching the last trig marker. The rewards for our efforts are stunning views of the Manukau Harbour entrance, South Head, the Awhitu Peninsular on the southern shore, the site of the old wharf and the accretive sands of Whatipu - west coast bush and beach at its best.