We have about 200 pictures from this little excursion and none of them suck.  We had an awesome day hiking the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, including two gorgeous black sand beaches and two stunning waterfalls.  

We took the train out West as far as we could go then got an Uber the rest of the way to our first stop, Piha Beach.  Known for its surfing, Piha also has a recognizable rock formation called Lions Rock.  There is a short but steep hike up the rock for a really incredible view of the entire beach.  

Entering the park to start hiking we got a much more tropical environment than we expected.  It’s lush and green with ferns and palms leaning into the trails.  Streams and mini waterfalls along the hike kept getting bigger until we hit the first waterfall, Kitekite Falls.

We jumped in for a refreshing, and chilly, swim.  Once we were dry enough to put our sneakers back on, we continued up the trail toward the next waterfall.  We crossed over the  top of Kitekite which is clearly the cool place for high-schoolers to hang out.  I don’t blame them, the pools and the scenery are way better than the basement at someones parents house. 

The hike from Kitekite was no joke.  Steep uphill for a solid hour.  Thankfully, the forest provided plenty of shade and it wasn’t blazing hot out. Once we hit the downhill portion it was about 30 more minutes before we saw Karekare Falls.

How goregeous is this place?  Plus have you noticed there aren’t any people in the waterfall pictures? Other people were there admiring the falls, but very few were swimming.  We had our own private swim again here at Karekare.

The beach is only 20 minutes from the falls, and I was practically running because I was so excited. In a recent article, Passport Magazine named Karekare Beach the #2 Best Beach in the world.  It did not disappoint.  Movie buffs might recognize the rock formation, The Watchman, from the famous beach scene in  The Piano.  Nothing about Karekare is tropical, but the cliffs that go on forever and unique rock formations are calming in their own way.  It didn’t hurt that there was hardly a soul in sight.  Just the two of us and endless black sand.  A little Karekare magic to end the day.

Okay, maybe we did have a tiny bit more day left.  At this point it was 6pm and neither of us had cell service.  We were looking at a 60-90 min hike if we wanted to get back to Piha beach where we were dropped off and knew there was a cafe with wifi.  On a whim, I thought we should ask the Karekare Surf Club, kind of a lifeguard hotel and HQ, if we could use their phone to call a taxi.  Adding to our suspicions that New Zealanders are the friendliest people in the world, two 19 year-old lifeguards said they were on their way out and they would give us a ride to the train station.  When they gathered their stuff and came back outside, they even offered us a couple Long White’s for the ride.  It’s almost like they didn’t realize we were geniuses who got stuck on a beach?  Either we’re incredibly lucky, or our suspicions are right. Thank you Sam and Zach!  

When we got home it was all laughs because we couldn’t believe how well the day had worked out and all the remarkable sights we’d seen.  New Zealand is certainly setting the bar high for the rest of our trip.