My fiance and I had a lovely stay at Luis' home in Titirangi. It was the perfect 'staycation' in Auckland to celebrate our recent engagement. We felt lucky to be the first guests! Within a very short time frame you are driving in suburbia and then suddenly plunged into the thick, native bush that the area is known for.
When we arrived it was very easy for us to see ourselves into the accommodation, the instructions Luis gave us were clear. Stepping into the home takes your breath away - the main living area is elevated and looks out to tree-tops, the sky, and the harbour in the distance. We spent many hours just reclining on the deck reading books (there is a great selection on the shelves), watching kerurū and tui dart from tree to tree, and sipping on a cuppa (and a glass or two of wine...). Making meals or ordering in - you cannot beat the view over dinner. One of our evenings we had rain, and it was lovely listening to it on the roof - we decided that was a good time to relax in the bath - very zen! There are two bathrooms, one with the bath/shower/toilet, and one with a shower (two different shower heads) and a toilet. Water pressure was excellent.
Luis recommended that one of the mornings we could walk up to Titirangi Village, where we picked up a coffee and on our return we walked past the accommodation and down to French Bay for a walk along the waterfront. Highly recommend doing this! We passed by a sign for a 'Zigzag' walking track - next time we're in the area we will do this to access the beach for an alternate route.
A highlight was opening the bedroom curtains in the morning in the master, and returning to bed with a coffee and just gazing out into the trees, listening to the native birdsong.
Next time we would love to invite friends to stay out here with us, as there is another bedroom that can sleep a couple, plus a crib for a baby in a single room. As this accommodation is not far from the city, it's a perfect escape for a holiday that can act as a base to explore other areas of Auckland if you are not familiar with the city.