Piha Beach

Warm water, rolling waves in sets of 3 and a huge expanse of room this is a place to check out .
Never a huge fan of West coast beaches I’m being converted after the holiday weekend .
Not a lot of shade here so bring all things your going to be needing and wear shoes as the black sand can get hot like lava !
And for the love of God !! Swim between the flags here !

Despite living in Auckland most of my life, until recently I had never been to Piha Beach. I’d seen it on Piha Rescue and for some silly reason had decided that it wasn’t worth the hour long drive. After all, I lived 2mins from a safe and sheltered beach.
Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong…
Piha is truly breathtaking. Everything about it from the black sand to the sweeping dunes to the windy road you take to get there, epitomises the rugged beauty of the West Coast.
We went recently for a weekend drive to walk the dog and despite Luca vomming (we’re hoping he’ll grow out of it.) in the car, he loved it. Sooo many new smells and friends to make. Afterwards we stopped in at the Piha Café for a pizza and a couple of beers (they’ve got Garage Project in cans) — the perfect end to a pretty perfect day!
NB. Dogs are only allowed off lead on certain parts of the beach. Make sure you check out the signs when you get there.

A must with your in Auckland so peaceful and beautiful out here.

My friends and I took a bit of a drive from
Auckland in search of black sand and were surprised and pleased by Piha Breach. The beach has really great waves (most important), clean sand, and beautiful views. As we arrived a surfing competition was just ending which tells you how heavy the waves can be. Don’t fear! That’s why the life guards are here. We had a good swim and walked the black sand. The cliffs around the beach make the whole event seem dramatic. Loved it.
Parking is great unless there is a surf competition.

Beautiful beach just Northwest of Auckland! Worth the drive!

Making the drive here is a little difficult from Auckland, as you go along very windy roads, but you do get a great view from the pull off above the beach. That is where you will see the famous overhead pictures are taken. The beach itself was pretty open, not too many people there on the late afternoon that we went. This was in November, maybe a bit early for most of the crowds. Parking is right there, and you walk out on amazingly soft, very dark sand. The water was cold in November but swimmable, lots of waves here so watch the currents, although it was just fine for me. Even if the weather is cold, would highly recommend coming here.

Piha is definitely up there as one of the best beaches in New Zealand. The surf is fantastic, big enough for the surfers, not so wild (most of the time) that you can have a fun, enjoyable swim, provided you stay in between the flags. The sand is black and hot, dunes line the back of the beach, Lion Rock sits in the middle cutting off North Piha and South Piha, with the estuary in the middle. In the peak of summer it will be packed, it might be hard to find a car park, but with the car park right next to the beach it’s perfect because you don’t have to go for a big long walk across hot sand. The whole Piha lifestyle is great. Not only is there the beach, there are markets on the weekend, the café, the RSA, the store. Lots of babes to perve at too. There’s heaps of bush walks around, the waterfall. I could go on, but I won’t. Go check it out!

There is something infinitely sexy about the surfer guy. It was sexy when the Beach Boys rocked Surfin’ USA. It was sexy when Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze did it in Point Break and it’s still sexy now when the guys are surfing the waves off Piha beach. The surf here is amazing with huge waves crashing about constantly. You can literally surf here any day of the year and even if you don’t surf, they’re so fun to jump around in compared to the still waters of the inner city beaches.
Piha is without a doubt Auckland’s best beach. Forget the Mission Bay to St Heliers Bay road, head down to the South-​west where it is so much more picturesque and so much less crowded with tourists. The black sand is also a welcome change… even if it does burn your feet something crazy on hot summer days.
It’s not even that far out of the city if you’ve got a car and the longer journey is totally worth it to get clean water, big waves and a gorgeous sandy shore.

Whenever someone from outside Auckland asks where they should go, Piha is one of the first things I say. I love it. When I was younger we used to have a bach here, and I’ve never lost my fondness for it. But it’s not just the memories that make it great — it’s a spectacular beach.
We don’t have a lot of accessible West Coast beaches in Auckland, and the black sand is a novelty, though a VERY hot one in the summer.
There is a great café and plenty of room on the beach. There’s also Lion Rock, which is stunning, and an awesome walk out to Fairy Falls.
Yes, it’s a dangerous beach, but just don’t be an idiot. Don’t go swimming if you’re a bad swimmer, stay inside the flags, don’t wear a hoodie when you’re swimming. Done.

Hopefully by now most people realise how dangerous Piha is, thanks to its very own sur lifesaving tele show. I’ve always been put off by the piles of hooligans in the carpark but if you go further down it’s much more peaceful — just don’t risk swimming outside the flags.
Undeniably one of the Wild West’s most popular beaches, I really like coming here in winter when it’s moody and feral and just the thing to get you out of your own head. You can climb Lion Rock if you’re keen and there’s quite a few lesser known things to do in the area if you do some research. A drive through the Waitaks followed by a long walk looking out into the wild blue yonder is a great way to spend a weekend afternoon.

When you need to get the cobwebs blown out and are in need of some fresh air you should head straight to Piha. This beach on the wild, windy west coast is one of my favourite places to go in winter which is something you don’t hear much when it comes to beaches. It’s in its element on a cold winters day as the whole place comes alive. I wouldn’t dare go near the water as there are seriously dangerous rips out there but it is amazing to look at.
I like to get a coffee from the Piha Café and park up by the beach and watch Mother Nature get angry. There’s an awesome lookout from the top of the hill as you come in to Piha which is a great place to take it all in too.
No matter what time of day you’re there whether it’s sunrise, sunset or even the middle of the night this place is magical and I doubt there’s anywhere else in the world quite like it.

Most people are aware of Piha. One of Auckland’s most famous beaches I’m pretty sure. The sad thing is these days it’s famous for all the wrong reasons. A friend and I were chatting not long ago about back in the hey day — when you wouldn’t be able to find a spot in the sand on this beautiful stretch of beach. These days it doesn’t seem to be quite as popular and I think the reason is the dangers of the place have become very well known. Just this week two people drowned there. It’s pretty heart breaking that this kind of thing happens so often but the reason is because people simply do not take enough care. It’s a dangerous beach with lots of strong rips and huge waves… so heading into the water in a pair of jeans really isn’t the best of ideas. The hugely sensationalised «Piha Rescue» has also highlighted how many things go wrong in these waters.
I think its sad that not as many people may visit the spot for these reasons, as it really is beautiful and spectacular and a must for tourists. Everyone just needs to have their A-​game on and be sensible and careful when visiting.

In Auckland we are pretty spoiled with beaches. I know that I’m a regular at around 5 beaches in Auckland and they’re all beautiful for their own reasons. But Piha is my number one adventure beach. When I’m not interested in lounging in the sand all day long and want to get out and amongst it in the waves or hiking up Lions Rock, Piha is the place to go. And even though people rave about how dangerous it is (and I’m not saying it isn’t) as long as you stick between the flags, don’t go out past your chest and only go swimming when the lifeguards are on watch, you should be fine.

My first visit to this beach and the grotto rock formations are what stood out to me the most. They are awesome! What stunning beauty from Mother Nature; they are huge, so the sheer impact of their size against our small insignificant sized bodies created part of this sense of awe. I am sure that the details in these rocks bring about great inspiration to many creative minds, young and old alike. The black sand is also a unique feature for out-​of-​towners, interesting on the eye but also fun to play with creating swirls of shimmering imprints. Each time I have visited I have seen few swimmers, but a lot of surfers.