Piha Beach

We've been trying to get out and explore as much as we can while the weather is still sunny & warm before winter hits and we're more hesitant in braving the chill & rain. We wanted to explore the west coast since we've only been on the east coast so far. So we referred to our trusty New Zealand guide book and found a good beach to check out. The east coast water is calm and mellow and the west coast water has many more waves. We drove over an hour to Piha beach and loved the day spent in the sand and water! 

We drove on a windy road with a wall of green vegetation surrounding us. When we arrived the sun was hiding behind gray clouds and it was a bit chilly. Surfers were standing around in groups in the sand watching fellow surfers perform out in the wild water. Soon the sun peeked out and it got warmer. The kids loved watching the talented surfers ride the waves, running around in the water, making tunnels and mounds in the black sand, and dragging around seaweed. Cody & I loved laying in the sand watching the kids in heaven. This beach had such soft black sand. It was so fun to walk and play in. Reese especially thought the sparkly sand was fun and was covered from head to toe in the black dust!

We walked down the beach to climb to Lion Rock and enjoy the breathtaking views! We walked to the opposite side of the beach at low tide and enjoyed watching the water crash through the exposed holes and crevices in the cliffs. High tide provides more water to play in but low tide is really fun to walk along the sand and enjoy the rocks and creatures the water once covered.

Here's a link to a video we made of our fun day:
https://youtu.be/4mVm6mxNgoU