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Pounding surf, galloping horses and a rugged coastline fringed with subtropical forests are standard ingredients of many a romantic creation. It’s no wonder, then, that New Zealand’s most famous cinematic romance, ‘The Piano,’ was set on a beach in the Waitakeres, and that television cult series ‘Hercules: The Legendary Journey’ and ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ were also filmed on Waitakere beaches.

The beaches here are splendid and savage. One can gallop one’s horse on the black iron-sand, hike in the damp rainforest, rock-fish from wave-lashed boulders, take a four-wheel drive, go canyoning, or simply enjoy a more conventional romance at a vineyard.

Though only 30 minutes from the central city, Aucklanders call this area ‘The Wild West’ and joke that the inhabitants are either macrame-obsessed, petrol-heads or Boganvillers. I’m not sure how well any of the monikers fit, but let me say that the mayor of Waitakere City is still trying to explain why he did a down-trou to a local who irritated him. So, wild it is, and passionate too.

This is why it’s my favourite place for a weekend away from Auckland. Usually my partner and I start with a Friday night at Rangiwai Lodge in Titirangi, partly because we love the peaceful ambience and partly because we look forward to scoffing one of their exquisite breakfasts. It’s also three minutes away from Titirangi village which hums to the sound of a thousand espresso machines, and is home to the city’s public art gallery, Lopdell House.

Titirangi has long been a haven for artists, and private galleries are dotted around the Waitakeres. The Art Out West brochure, available from the Visitors Centre at the airport, helps one plan an art attack although I make sure that the route includes Fatu Feu’u’s Tasina Gallery in Whenuapai. The Samoan artist specializes in striking paintings featuring Pacific motifs.

The route inevitably takes us to the coast. If there’s time, we walk in the pristine wilderness from Karekare beach (site of The Piano) to Whatipu. The dunes harbour a number of freshwater lakes abundant in wildlife. Time is short, so we head straight for Piha where the sea is notoriously dangerous but the sight is dramatic. Besides, the Surf Life Club does the best fish ‘n chips in the business.

That night we stay at Bethells Beach Cottages, rustic, quirky with great views, which means that I can fit in half a day’s horse riding with Muriwai Beach Riding Centre at Muriwai (also home to the gannet colony) in the morning.

Smelling horsy and looking a bit grubby doesn’t stop me from touring the vineyards on the way home, Babich, Nobilos, Coopers Creek and Collards to name a few, or having lunch at one of the many top restaurants that have grown up next to them. The Hunting Lodge at Matua Valley has been voted the best country restaurant in New Zealand.

After all that food, wine and wild wilderness, we are completely and happily sated. That is, until we start to argue about who is sober enough to drive home.

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