Things to do and see in Piha, Muriwai, Bethells Beach, Mercer Bay, and Karekare Beach, New Zealand.
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An excellent day of walking at Piha goes something like this (tide dependent): 1. walk the Kitekite track before tourists arrive 1. drive down to the beach then as far north as you can (there’s a car park) 1. from there, go down to the beach and walk northward (water on your left), being sure to keep a look out for a mound of sand which leads to caves (for the brave) 1. at the end of the beach (north), you will see a small wooden placard that marks a trailhead; this is the Laird Thomson Track. Take it as far as you want and come back to your car. 1. drive down to Lion Rock and park 1. go up and back down Lion Rock 1. given it is low tide, go southward down the beach and around the cliff. You will see exposed beach between the mainland and some other cliffy bits. This spot on the right is called Taitomo Rock. On the right, there is a small opening that leads into a cave and out the other side – surfers and paddle boarders use this to get past the waves (dangerous). You will also see a medium-sized pool that is protected from the ocean by rocks – swim here. You can see pictures of this opening and the pool here. Behind this pool on the landward side, there is a low-lying area with vegetation and more sand – walk into here and keep your eye on the left side, for there is a track (the Tasman Lookout) that will take you up the cliff and back to the south piha beach car park area.
Beach where I proposed to my wife at sunset.
This loop track is about and hour of downhill then uphill. Very epic scenery. https://goo.gl/maps/S491SuyEoRvZkHv36
Really nice walk on the beach. Be careful in the little stream after there’s been rainfall upriver, for flash flooding can happen. https://goo.gl/maps/oX7koY7FqVFhLnvH9
Really nice walk on the beach with no human developments around. https://goo.gl/maps/1GQRv72zGYZcTCaL7