So close and yet so far

Sunrise over Kawau Island, a peaceful haven just a short drive and ferry ride away from Auckland. Picture / Peter Meecham

Kawau island is a treasure and a miracle. It's only an hour's drive north of Auckland City yet it has endured as a piece of backcountry New Zealand where it is guaranteed you won't be woken by revving cars and squealing tyres.

Our weekend hosts, Helen and Dave Jeffery, know all about rubber meeting the road. They had a tyre retail business in Avondale while running sailing charters and a B&B in Half Moon Bay, Pakuranga.

Gradually, the daily beat across town drove them to the point where they did what many Auckland yachties do - run for shelter at Kawau.

At their Moana Lodge in the northern part of the island there are no roads and the traffic forms part of the picturesque backdrop. Ferries and cruising yachts pass by their window. Instead of a garage they have a wharf.

The hard part of their new life was the 18 months it took to convert an original island-style bach into a three-star-plus boutique lodge and pass the Qualmark certification.

Their history means hosts who are sensitive to the needs of stressed refugees from the mainland.

They are also happy people to be around.

Helen cooks in the house and on the yacht, Sweet Disorder, serving meals which have fresh ingredients and Pacifika flavours.

Saturday lunch was a homemade pizza with green salad. Dinner was balsamic fillet steak complemented by Helen's bean stew.

Vegetarians are catered for and a feed of Kawau scallops or snapper is likely in the season.

Dave is an experienced skipper, who does the hard work of setting the sails while guests take the helm and head for any number of peaceful, historic spots on the islands of the Hauraki Gulf.

A guestbook entry sums up someone's happy sailing: "We brought the weather and you did the rest."

Of course, some people just go back to bed after breakfast and listen to the birds sing, or take a picnic and walk a shady lane.

When you are done wandering and swimming, the Jeffery's fizzboat or water taxi can bring you back to base.

Base is a four-bedroom house tucked into the hills under a canopy of wind-sculptured trees. Miraculously, the island has escaped the conversion to semi-suburbia that has spoiled many a favourite retreat.

Only about 75 people live there though it's connected by vying ferry and water taxi companies.

Your car is well looked after at Sandspit Wharf, near Warkworth, and from there it is a comfortable half-hour boat trip across the open waters of Kawau Bay in the Kawau Kat catamaran.

One of its passenger stops is Mansion House Bay where it's a thrilling surprise to see a white mansion set in a green blur of palms and pines.

Sir George Grey made it his home in 1862 while Governor and later Premier.

It had been the manager's residence during the island's copper mining era and Grey showed the way for future generations with his flair for picking a prime location, carrying out additions and refinements and creating a garden paradise.

The place is open to the public and the gardens of exotic flora and fauna offer spots for a peaceful picnic with peacocks thrown in.

The Jefferys say their Kawau Island Weekend Experience is an alternative to the "usual cafe and vineyard scene".

But catching the 1pm ferry back to Sandspit leaves time to do that, too.

Contact

Moana Lodge is at North Harbour, Kawau Island. It's on the phone at (09) 422 8831

Facilities

The lodge has two separate guest bedrooms on the ground floor, each with a shower and toilet, and tea/coffee-making facilities. Rooms share a balcony overlooking a tidal bay. The dining area and TV lounge upstairs is reached by an outside path.

Rates

Kawau Island Weekend Experience: One couple $520; with sailing $1070. Two couples $1040 (sailing $1590). The weekend experience can be any combination of a weekday or weekend day. Rooms can be booked separately or together. Rate includes Friday light dinner, Saturday continental breakfast (served in your room if required), dinner and Sunday brunch. Free use of kayaks and sailing dinghy.

Getting there

Parking is available at Sandspit Wharf carpark for $8 a day. Kawau Kat Cruises depart 10.30am daily, adult return $29, or Royal Mail Cruise $49. Kawau Water Taxi sails any time, both on ph 0800 888006.