If you like the idea of a weekend in the Hamptons but can't see yourself making it to Long Island any time soon, you could do much worse than a trip to Matakana.

Like the legendary New York holiday hangout, the region and its surrounds are a magnet for urbanites looking to get back to nature for a bit, safe in the knowledge they'll be able to get a good a good cup of coffee (or glass of wine) and something decent for lunch.

Both are home to small coastal communities with extra-large houses, long white-sand beaches, wineries with cheap (in Hamptonite terms) tastings, farmers' markets, art galleries and boutiques stocked with the kind of casual but costly clothing and homewares often on offer in affluent coastal towns. Visitors can sample a slice of rural life, essentially, safe in the knowledge they're unlikely to get dung on their designer city-slicker shoes.

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Matakana: Sophisticated but not snobby.

In some respects Matakana has the Hamptons beat. While the traffic from Auckland can be maddening, particularly on sunny summer weekends, it's usually not as bad as the hours-long commutes New Yorkers en route to the Hamptons endure. And you don't have to bookaccommodation and tables at popular restaurants a year in advance.

READ MORE: * Sculptureum: New Zealand's sculpture park with a difference * Five of the best Auckland wineries for a weekend drive * 20 reasons to visit Matakana this weekend

Unless you're an old-money Manhattanite, cashed-up corporate or real housewife of New Jersey or NYC, you're also likely to feel more at home in Matakana. Sophisticated but not snobby, it's as attractive to beach bums and surfers as those looking to indulge in fine wine or craft beer over a fancy long lunch.

Like a lot of Aucklanders, I've spent many a Saturday or Sunday in Matakana but the increasingly horrendous traffic jams have put me off going - on my last trip back, it took an hour just to get down Matakana Road. A solution is to take a leaf out of Hamptonites' book and spend a night or few - something I had the pleasure of doing for the first time fairly recently and have been hoping to repeat ever since.

Heading out of Auckland on a drizzly spring morning, the traffic was as close as it can come in the city to a dream (ie it wasn't a complete nightmare) and I made it to Matakana within an hour.

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Matakana has one of the most diverse grape varieties grown in NZ.

The town's high population of talented artisans make its market worth travelling for and, thinking back to the apple, feijoa and Manuka honey liqueur I'd picked up on my last visit and couldn't stop pouring over ice cream, I was keen to stock up and see what new treats lay in store.

Even after a big breakfast, I found myself salivating at every other stall. Mahurangi oysters, mince and mozzarella pies, mallowpuff-sized balls of Swiss chocolate and salted caramel and buckwheat galettes oozing melted cheese had me reassuring myself there's nothing wrong with treating yourself to breakfast, brunch and lunch in one day from time to time. Especially when you know that exercising restraint is going to result in a serious case of FOMO.

Even at 10am, the booze also looked tempting. Along with the fruity wines and liqueurs produced by family-run Lothlorien in the nearby Ahuroa Valley - which, to the best of its knowledge, is the only certified organic feijoa winery in the world - were locally distilled Market Gin and Batch10 honey bourbon. The makers of the latter had teamed up with local ice cream institution Charlies to create a boozy frozen dessert so blissful - and potent - that has since had my entire family - adults and kids alike - bouncing off the walls.

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The beaches and bush walks of Twharanui are a short drive away.

Feeling as fat at the smoked beef brisket burrito I'd stashed in my bag for lunch, I picked up a loose-fitting t-shirt made from colourful mismatched fabrics (it looks nicer than it sounds) at the neighbouring craft market and headed to Sculptureum, which co-founder Anthony Grant has dubbed "Disneyland for art".

Developed over more than a decade by Anthony and his wife Sandra, both of whom work as barristers in Auckland, the 10-hectare property is a gallery/amusement park of sorts with its three sculpture gardens, six indoor galleries, a vineyard, and restaurant and bar Rothko, which has quickly established itself as one of the best (posh) places to eat in town.

The some 400 works on display include "serious" pieces by such artistic superstars as Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse and Chagall along with offbeat, often in-your-face, sculptures likely to both amuse and bemuse. Think a family of hot pink giant snails, a sheepdog made from a mop enjoying the feeling of wind in its fur from an open car window, and curious hybrid albino creatures: one with the head of a cat and (naked) body of a woman and another with the head of a dog and body of an (also naked) man.

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Roktho is one of many the many posh places to eat in the area.

The aim, Grant has said, is to sway those "who've been turned off art by boring displays and arrogant curators. I want to show them that art can be fun and it can enrich your life."

In the outdoor galleries, pathways wind their way past classical and country-style gardens; flame-coloured flax bushes; aviaries filled with finches, parrots, parakeets, golden pheasants and other colourful birds of a feather (flocking, of course, together); free-range giant flemish rabbits; written musings on art and gardening by centuries of intelligent sorts; and advice on self-improvement from the late Steve Jobs.

I spent so much time studying the latter in an attempt to decode the secrets to his multi-billion dollar success that the restaurant was closed by the time I'd finished. A good thing really considering I hadn't managed to resist that burrito in my bag.

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Sculptureum has been dubbed 'Disneyland for art'.

From Sculptureum, it's just a short drive to Twharanui where, in summer, I like to work up enough of a sweat on the tracks that traverse rolling farmland and regenerating forest to feel okay about spending the rest of the day snoozing on the white-sand surf beach. With regular refreshment breaks in the marine reserve - also a popular spot with the likes of starfish, lobsters and bottlenose dolphins.

On that overcast but brightening spring evening though, I was the only person in Anchor Bay not wearing a wetsuit. Walking the Westend Track without another soul - saving the seal-like surfers bobbing far out to sea - in sight, the city and the stresses it brings seemed a million miles - although technically I was still within the supercity's limits.

Discovering I was in town during Feast Matakana, when local restaurants showcase their best locally grown and caught produce, I decided it would be remiss of me not to add a fourth meal to the day and headed to Matakana Market Kitchen where I had quite the feast indeed. Of Mahurangi oysters, baked flounder, prawns and salad, and a belly-bloating (but irresistible) medley of aubergine, red capsicums, other roast veggies and beans.

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Twharanui: Just as pretty when you have it to yourself off peak.

Stuffed to the point of sedated, I waddled the few hundred metres or so to long-running B&B the Black and White Barn, which lives up to its name in terms of its colour scheme but bears no trace of having ever been used to house hay or animals. Founded by ex-Auckland Amy and Simon Hope, who absconded for a simpler life, its two suites and larger White Cottage offer everything those who dream of following in their footsteps (even just for a weekend) could hope for with their stylish monochromatic furnishings, cool contemporary artworks, natural Matakana-made toiletries and (most importantly) big comfy beds.

After a breakfast of the Puhoi yoghurt and fresh fruit left overnight in the fridge, I head to Pakiri, another of my all-time favourite Auckland beaches, where, feeling guilty about my gluttony, I ran across the fluffy white clouds reflected in the fine white sand until my legs and lungs commanded me to stop. And the end of the beach was still a distant speck on the horizon.

It was late afternoon by the time I made it to the Sawmill Brewery and Smoko Room which tragically went up in flames last October. Its owners for the past near-decade, Kirsty McKay and Mike Sutherland, hope the place will be back up-and-running by mid-year, and after the beverages and tapas-style dishes I enjoyed there I sure hope they're right.

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B&B The Black and White Barn is rustic but, this being Matakana, upmarket.

Taking a seat on the sun-drenched deck of the former timber mill, I sipped on a light grapefruit- and pine-scented pale ale - one of 15 beers brewed on site - as I tucked into tamarind pork hock with kohlrabi, pea tendrils and peanuts and an heirloom tomato, baby beetroot and witloof salad.

The deck was full when I arrived with punters working their way through tasting trays and sharing plates and - by the time the sun had begun to slope toward bed - families; the parents working their way through jugs of beer as they chatted while the kids made a mess of themselves in the mud. As far as snapshots of New Zealand life go, this one was pretty idyllic.

While I can't say I would turn down a trip to the Hamptons, Matakana is certainly no poor man's substitute.

MORE INFORMATION

matakanavillage.co.nz and matakanacoast.co.nz

GETTING THERE

Matakana is about an hour's drive north of Auckland CBD.

STAYING THERE

The Black and White Barn down quiet Courtney Lane isa couple of minuteswalk from the markets, shops, restaurants and cafes on the main street. whitecottage.co.nz

The writer was a guest of Black and White Barn andVolkswagon.

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Fourteen kilometre Pakiri is arguably one of Auckland's best beaches.

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The Sawmill Brewery is expected to reopen this year after being devastated by fire.

Stuff

More here:
Is Matakana New Zealand's answer to the Hamptons? - Stuff.co.nz