An Eco Experience
With Tanya Cumberland
& Charmaine Pountney
Explore a giant sand dune, landscape, story and people
The Awhitu Peninsula is a giant sand dune, only an hour from Auckland but a lifetime away in landscape and spirit. If you are interested in the way people shape land, and land shapes people, this two-day eco-ramble on a unique peninsula is for you.
Your hosts will be Tanya and Charmaine, two spirited older women who left top jobs in the city in 1992 to create a sub-tropical oasis from bare land on Awhitu. (See their website www.earthtalk.co.nz). They'll help you explore the ancient past, human history and heritage, landscapes and environmental projects of the Peninsula. The journey will include walks - on the wild west coast and gentler harbour shores, through native forest, and around restored wetlands, organic gardens and orchards - plus gallery and vineyard visits.
You'll travel by car or minibus, sleep beside the sea - choose between your host's farm cottage, a motel or a traditional kiwi bach. You'll share ideas about the people and plants, pleasures and politics of Aotearoa-New Zealand with your articulate and well-informed hosts, and enjoy meals of delicious homegrown organic produce. There'll be a visit to a social club, market, or other local activity, depending on season. All this is included in the tour package.
At the end of two days you will understand the impact of human beings on this fragile ecosystem, what kinds of communities have developed, and what we are doing now to protect and enhance our land and our livelihoods. You'll also know a great deal more about Aotearoa people, plants, pleasures and politics!
Itinerary: Day One
- Your host will pick you up in Auckland, and talk about sites and matters of interest in Auckland and Franklin during the journey south to Waiuku
- In Waiuku, an introduction to mana whenua (Maori people of the local area), and refreshments. Drive up the Awhitu Peninsula, with your guide introducing the ecology, history and cultures of the area
- Arrive at earthtalk@awhitu, your hosts' 28-acre organic farm. Walk around gardens and orchards, native bush and wetland restoration projects, heritage flax collection and timber plantations on this Manukau Harbour coastal property. Share a delicious home-grown organic lunch
- After lunch, a walk at Waimatuku, a west coast beach with sculpted sand cliffs towering over black sand and wild surf. Then visit Awhitu Wines - stroll through a family-owned harbour's edge vineyard and sample their award-winning syrah and chardonnay
- Settle in to your accommodation for the evening at earthtalk@awhitu's farm cottage, Colbeck Beach Bach or Orua Bay Motel. Relax, read, swim, enjoy a snack, take a stroll on the beach
- In the evening, a three-course dinner with delicious organic local food and drinks provided by Jan Lowndes. You'll enjoy stimulating conversation with your hosts and other guests, and New Zealand music
Itinerary: Day 2
- Have a leisurely breakfast -organic, of course! - Then leave your accommodation for a bush walk through one of the older protected and regenerating areas of native bush on the Peninsula. Visit historic Awhitu Central, the Manukau Heads and a Lighthouse Restoration Project
- Have a picnic lunch in the Awhitu Regional Park, enjoy a harbour coast and wetland walk, and see an old settler cottage and a modern Maori sculpture. Then travel to Awhitu Arts - a gallery selling quality work by 20 Peninsula artists and crafts people - at Pollok. This ridge-top village has many centuries of history - first Maori, then Scottish, now diverse, like much of Aotearoa
- Drive to Waiuku, relishing again the spectacular views of the Peninsula, the Manukau Harbour and the Tasman Sea, and from Waiuku return to Auckland via the Manukau Harbour coast and Papakura
Your hosts
Your hosts, Tanya Cumberland and Charmaine Pountney, offer interesting perspectives on Awhitu and on Aotearoa today.
They are active in feminist and organic networks, and have on-going relationships with tangata whenua and community action groups.
Tanya's background is in geography, social work and change management, Charmaine's in educational leadership and communication.
Together, since 1992, they have transformed their land from a grassed dry-stock grazing unit into a diverse organic and subtropical oasis, and established a small business, earthtalk@awhitu.
For more information see: www.earthtalk.co.nz
Pricing
The cost of the Awhitu Alive package will depend on the type of accommodation chosen.- The farm cottage has a comfortable double bed and all facilities
- The motel has single, double and twin units with full kitchen and bathroom facilities.
- The bach is a simple family holiday cottage with double and twin rooms, outdoor solar shower and toilet
| Farm Cottage | Motel | Bach |
| $540 | $540 | $490 |
To maintain the quality of the experience, groups will be limited to a maximum of 8 people.