Auckland, nestled between the Tasman sea and the Hauraki Gulf is the most densely populated region of New Zealand. It has a lot of coastline though, so when you want to hit the beach there are plenty of options. Here are a few favourites to get you started.  Immortalised in songs by Crowded House and Salmonella Dub, as well as the movie The Piano, Kare Kare is about 35 miles West of Auckland and where the Waitakere mountain range drops away to a wide flat expanse of dark sand staring ominously at the ocean. It is an area of rugged natural beauty, first settled by Maori people but has since…