I think it’s safe to say that we did quite a few Tiki Tours (Duder Regional Park and Hunua Falls) when I was home in New Zealand including visiting Muriwai Beach and Piha for the very first time…yes this Aucklander had never ever visited Piha before…actually none of us had so we thought we better check it out as it’s one of those destinations that is splattered all over instagram like no ones business and we wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
After dad had a minor nip and tuck in the morning, we jumped in the car for a drive out to West Auckland…we live in South Auckland and promptly got caught in Auckland traffic…as you do!
We weren’t stuck for too long and made it to Muriwai Beach…it’s pretty gorgeous don’t you think….it’s a black sand beach…
…but we came to perve on some birds…you could smell them before you could see them…
…Gannets!
And I mean a lot of smelly gannets!
As much as I’m afraid of birds, it did all look rather beautiful and romantic…crashing waves, black sand and ummm birds. I should point out that I do really enjoy eating roast chicken so I’m not afraid of all birds…thought I should clear that up.
^^If you look really close you can see a crazy man fishing
^^For those of you that need to visit spec savers!
The views over Muriwai Beach from the Gannet Colony are spectacular…
…ahhh New Zealand you are something quite special.
In typical Auckland fashion, the weather decided to turn…for those thinking of visiting New Zealand in December…it can be summed up by the Crowded House hit, Four Seasons in One Day…from blue skies…
…to oh crap, I didn’t bring my thermals with me!
Okay thermals probably weren’t needed but on a West Auckland surf beach, well you need something to protect yourself from the chilly willy wind.
We left the gannet colony and headed around a little further to Muriwai Beach…where we made sure we took a photo between the flags….
…seriously it’s December…which fool goes swimming at a beach in December in New Zealand…apart from a lot of bloody crazy tourists that generally look like Miss Piggy as they didn’t apply suncream.
^^Why hello Mr Lifeguard!
Feeling slightly peckish, we stopped and purchased some rather over priced hot chips from the Muriwai Cafe…seriously the place is way over priced…think London prices then add more. We pigged out on the chips as we drove around the coast to Piha…I will apologise now if you see Pita come up in this blog post…I do actually mean Piha however my computer is auto correcting.
So Piha is split between North Piha and South Piha…who knew!?! So we ended up at South Piha first…it was starting to rain…
…told you typical Auckland weather…
…it was a perfect day for surfing…
…or taking a million and one photos of Lion Rock…
…and some footprints snaps in the black sand which is a real pain in the bum trying to remove from your feet!
^^case in point
We then drove around to the North Piha side…Lion Rock separates the two and you can climb it however we didn’t…it was wet and windy and dad was acting like a hand brake about his ear hurting…honestly he had a bit of ear removed and then he didn’t think he could climb a huge rock (I jest…he was rather well behaved in the circumstances especially when he had three moaning myrtles in the car with him or to quote my dad…you’re moaning more than a Parisian hooker on a Friday night…shall we just stick with the moaning myrtles).
I much preferred the North Piha side…it’s probably the more famous of the two…
…I guess South Piha could be called the ugly sister really!
^^^That giant rock on the right looks like a big erect <insert word here>…you know the word I’m talking about but with a kink in it!
Of course we took a million and one photos…(thanks Lisa for the photo)…Dad and I in the zone…
…while Lisa photobombed my photo wearing her gangster Alannah Hill hoodie!
Yes Piha, you’re a beauty…
…wild and wonderful!
And then when I thought things couldn’t get more wonderful…I spotted this letterbox…only in New Zealand!
So where is your favourite spot in New Zealand? Have I tempted you to book a flight to Auckland yet?
xx
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