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I Want to Go Back Home Again…

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A small luxury hotel on Waiheke Island in Auckland’s harbor marks the changes there since I went to school there.

Back then, I told myself that I would come home to retire on Waiheke Island.

When I went to school at the nearby University of Auckland, the island, in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf was just a semi-rural island where low income retirees eked out a very peaceful life, gathering rainwater in cisterns to water their rose gardens overlooking the sea.

Their simple wood houses with corrugated tin roofs overlooked the most beautiful ocean views in the world.

Back then, you could climb down paths down the cliffs to lounge around in the warm sea or to fish for dinner.

There were only three billion people in the entire world in those days. It was a different time.

Now, this luxury small hotel in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf is described by boutique and luxury hotel specialists Mr and Mrs Smith in their droll commentary as “a blissful beachside boutique hotel that combines nautical design with laidback luxe. Perched above a bay, rooms enjoy panoramic views of Little Oneroa beach.”

When owner Jonathan shows Mr and Mrs Smith to their Boathouse Suite “there’s no official check-in, forms to fill out or talk of money – how chic and discreet.”

“Jonathan is playing chef tonight and serves up some beautiful canapés, glasses of wine and a three-course meal. We love the entrée of ravioli with crispy pancetta, king prawns and burnt butter sauce” enthuses Mrs Smith.

“Back at our boudoir, the turndown fairies have been: the candles are lit, music is playing softly and we slip between the crisp sheets. I know, I know, call the cliché police – there’s just no other way to put it – it’s the perfect end to a perfect day”.

I’ll just have to go back and double check it for you, to see how luxury tourism has just ruined the place now.