Piha Beach
A Black Sand Surf Beach On Auckland'S Rugged West Coast, Overlooked By The Volcanic Sea Stack Of Lion Rock, With Some Of The City'S Most Powerful And Dangerous Surf, A Dedicated Volunteer Lifeguard Patrol Every Summer And The Kitekite Falls Walk A Short Drive Inland · Piha, Auckland
Piha Beach is a black-sand surf beach on Auckland's rugged west coast, about forty five minutes' drive from the central city through the Waitakere Ranges. Its sand is dark with iron-rich titanomagnetite washed down from the surrounding volcanic hills, and its surf, driven by the open Tasman Sea, is among the most powerful of any Auckland beach - a reputation cemented by the long-running television series Piha Rescue, which follows the volunteer surf lifeguards who patrol it. Lion Rock, a volcanic sea stack known in Maori as Panatahi, splits the beach into North and South Piha and carries a former pa site on its summit, now closed to climbers because of erosion. A short walk or drive inland leads to Kitekite Falls, a waterfall with a popular swimming hole at its base inside Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. Piha has long drawn a surfing and arts community to its scattered baches, and remains a genuine village rather than a resort, with a general store, a surf club and little else in the way of shops.
Auckland's west coast, about 45 minutes from the central city, Piha, Auckland, New Zealand
Piha Beach itself has no gate and is open at any hour, free to visit, though the volunteer lifeguard patrol flies its flags only through the main summer season, roughly Labour Weekend in late October to around Easter, and only during daylight hours on patrolled weekends and busy days - outside that window, and at any hour outside the flags, there is no lifeguard cover at all. The Piha general store and the handful of village cafes keep modest daytime hours and some close entirely on quiet winter weekdays. Kitekite Falls' car park and track have no gate but are best avoided after dark.