07/12/2017 - Auckland's West Coast

The second night at the Muriwai Beach campground was much more restful than the first, although the mosquitoes still managed to find their way into our car. But this time there were fewer than 25 of them, so we were able to sleep much better. After a generous breakfast, we set out on our postponed day trip. We started with a drive to Karekare Beach. Before visiting the beach, we first went to the Karekare Falls. The waterfall is somewhat hidden. From the car park, you have to cross a bridge and climb a small hill to reach it. Karekare Fall is not particularly wide, but it is surrounded by nature and drops several meters into a pool, which entices many visitors to take a swim. After taking a few pictures, we headed to the beach. There are two official ways to access it. The fastest way is through a knee-high stream that flows into the ocean. The other trail is slightly off the car park and serves as the starting point for various hikes. Although we discovered a hiking trail to a nearby peak, 1.5 hours in flip-flops seemed much too long. Therefore, we followed the signage to the beach. The trail started in grassy dunes and gradually became sandier. Like Muriwai Beach, Karekare Beach is mostly blessed with black sand. The sun was blazing down on our heads, and we don't need to explain what happens with black sand. As more and more of the hot sand slipped under our soles, we had to take more and more breaks. But our salvation, the wet sand and the incoming waves, soon came into sight. However, seeing it wasn't the same as reaching our destination. An estimated 500 meters separated us from the sea. The heat under our feet was almost unbearable, and so we ran the last few meters to finally reach the long-awaited coolness of the ocean. At the water's edge - Tobi even thought he heard a hiss ;) - we were overjoyed to have felt the cool sea between our toes. Simply wonderful.
Apart from a handful of surfers, we didn't see any other swimmers in the sea. And that's a good thing because Karekare Beach is one of the most dangerous beaches in New Zealand. There is an unpredictable, strong undertow that only allows swimming under the supervision of lifeguards. The waves were crashing onto the beach that day, and we also had some trouble keeping our footing on two feet.
Despite all the dangers, it must also be mentioned that the beach is beautiful. The large cliffs on the sides and the rock formations in the middle of the ocean were very impressive. We enjoyed a long beach walk on this almost endless sandy beach. To get back to the car park, we decided to take the shorter route along the stream. It was a completely different experience from the way there, and so we arrived back at the car relaxed and at a comfortable temperature. ;)

Next, we chose Piha Beach as our destination for the day. The beach is located north of Karekare and can be reached in a 30-minute drive. In Piha, we immediately noticed that the beach is much more touristy - we were lucky to find one of the last parking spots.
It is very difficult to decide which beach is more beautiful since they are fundamentally different. Karekare is a very untouched, wild, and black-sandy beach. Piha, on the other hand, has a very fine, dark sandy beach and a large, unmistakable rock in the middle of the beach. This beautiful green-covered rock is also called "Lion's Rock." At first glance, we couldn't see any lion-like structure. Access to this rock is still possible today. However, access to the top has been closed off due to a rockfall in recent years. We walked as far as possible and enjoyed the view of the two halves of the beach.
Lastly, we went to a lookout called "Tasman Lookout" at the southern end of the beach. From here, you have a great view of Lion's Rock, and yes, we have to admit - from here, the rock does resemble a lying lion.

Afterwards, we drove back to Muriwai. After dinner, we came up with a strategy to bring as few mosquitoes as possible into our car. The plan was as follows: keep the windows closed and get into the car as quickly as possible and close the doors. It was like a pit stop in Formula 1.