On Saturday 18 November, a group of 7 plus myself went to Piha Beach, Karekare Falls and Karekare Beach. The day was relatively warm, about 22 degrees, but it was mostly cloudy and we had a few spots of rain late afternoon but that didn’t stop us from having a thoroughly enjoyable time.
Piha and Karekare – $65 per person, full day tour.
For info and bookings call: (64) 27 223 6655 email: [email protected] or book online:
Destination: Piha and Karekare
A group of 7 students from Auckland Institute of Studies joined me at 10am on Saturday 18 November 2017 and we headed for Auckland’s west coast. Our first stop was Piha Beach.
After about 50 minutes, we stopped the vehicle at Piha Lookout, took some photos of the spectacular vista and then drove down to the beach.
We then walked up the short, but steep track to Tasman Lookout where we got a great view of both South Piha and North Piha as well as the area leading to the Keyhole and Gap. After a while there, we walked along the track to the Gap area. This track also offers some great views.
We explored the Gap and the Keyhole but as it was still at about half tide, and some of the group were getting hungry, we clambered over the rocks and made our way back to South Piha Beach, taking photos along the way.
After a picnic lunch, we got back in the van and had a short (10-minute) drive to Karekare.
At Karekare, we first went to the Falls, stopping at a smaller waterfall which is on the same track as Karekare Falls. These two waterways join and form the stream which flows down Karekare Beach to the sea.
After the Falls, we started walking towards the beach but got side-tracked because at this time of year, the areas near the beach are a mass of yellow and green because all the lupins are flowering.
We had a short walk around the beach and headed back to Piha to explore the Gap and Keyhole at low tide. It’s always fun venturing into the Keyhole but as waves regularly surge through it, people inevitably get wetter than they planned.
We drove back to Auckland city, where we finished our day at 7pm.
