Crowne Plaza Auckland to Mangawhai Heads private car — Clara's conference trip

The August morning in Auckland was still holding onto its winter chill. My usual morning coffee from the usual spot near the harbour wasn't quite cutting it, so I was glad I'd packed an extra jumper. Pickups from the Crowne Plaza can be a bit of a lottery; sometimes it's a flight out of the country, other times a quick run across town. This Tuesday held a different kind of destination – heading north, up the coastline towards Mangawhai Heads.

Clara H. was waiting in the lobby, looking exactly like someone travelling for a conference. Smartly dressed, a professional-looking laptop bag beside her, and that quiet, focused energy that always suggests important business is on the agenda. Originally from the UK, she’d been in Auckland for a tech conference for a few days and was now heading to a more remote retreat, a place she'd described as "somewhere to really get my head around the next quarter's strategy." My first thought was how quiet it might be up there in the winter, a stark contrast to the city buzz.

The drive out of Auckland always starts with the familiar crawl. The city’s traffic seemed to be in its usual early-morning rhythm, a slow, steady flow of tail lights heading towards the motorways. We joined the Northern Motorway, and as we passed through the familiar sights of North Shore suburbs, Clara seemed to settle into the journey. She gazed out the window, no doubt taking in the less manicured, more natural landscapes that start to appear as you head towards the Hibiscus Coast.

We stopped at a small cafe in Warkworth, the kind of place that’s clearly popular with the locals. The air was crisp, the kind of cold that makes a hot flat white taste like liquid gold. While I fuelled up the car, Clara picked up a little something for the journey, a small pastry that looked far too good for breakfast fare. It was on the way out of Warkworth, as the road began to curve and wind its way towards the coast, that she started to open up a bit more. She spoke about the pressure of her role, the constant need to innovate in a rapidly changing industry, and how these writing retreats were her lifeline.

Mangawhai Heads was looking its winter best. A bit windswept, certainly quiet, with that dramatic stretch of beach visible even from the roadside. The sea was a deep, steely grey under the overcast sky. I pulled up to the modest lodge she had booked, a place that seemed perfectly designed for contemplation and clear thinking. It wasn't a grand hotel, but something more personal, almost rustic, with views stretching out towards the ocean. As she gathered her things, Clara thanked me, a genuine warmth in her voice. She mentioned she was looking forward to a few days of uninterrupted work, with just the sound of the waves for company. It sounded like a perfect antidote to the conference chaos. I watched her walk towards the lodge, a solitary figure against the vast backdrop of the coast, and felt a quiet satisfaction in delivering her to her planned solitude. The drive back to Auckland was long and silent, just me and the darkening sky, with the familiar rolling hills of Northland stretching out alongside the highway for a time before we reached the city.