It was another busy week at the university, not helped by the ridiculous amount of rain throughout the week which was apparently the remains of Cyclone Debbie which badly hit Australia a few days prior. This meant the building had flooded a lot. There was a lot of demolition work throughout the week which required a fair bit of lifting, as well as tidying up the main building. A fair few problems came up throughout the week due to the water issues, but they were fixed. Also no one communicates so things don't go to plan half the time, but it's funny to watch.
Come the weekend I decided to visit the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, which is located to the west of Auckland. To make the most of time there I decided to stay the night in the village of Piha. Piha is a famous surf spot in New Zealand, so much so that it even has its own TV show called Piha Rescue filmed there due to the high number of issues. The waves and currents are particularly strong here which attracts a high number of surfers. Piha itself and the surrounding areas are popular with hikers for its distinctive ironsand beaches and dramatic coastline.
Leaving relatively early, I was stuck on a rail replacement bus as there were engineering works. This took me to within 20km or so of Piha. From here I hitchhiked the rest of the way in. The thing with Piha is there's only one road in and out which makes hitchhiking particularly easy, and with no bus there except for expensive tour buses it was that or walk. I made it to Piha in good time, and with 2 days to explore, I headed south towards the neighboring village or Karekare via the coast. The terrain in the park was very undulating although following the clifftop coastline there were plenty of stunning views of both the beaches and heavily wooded areas inland.
When arriving in Karekare there was the Karekare races on which is an annual horse racing event on the beach primarily aimed for families. This meant it was particularly busy. I stayed and watched for a bit and had lunch here before continuing south along the coast along the beach which took me beneath the cliffs before heading inland through grassland past lakes. I then headed up where I got some more pretty special views before arriving back into Karekare effectively completing a loop. I then headed inland to visit the Karekare falls, a waterfall about 10 minute walk from the road. This meant it was busy although it was a pretty site.
After leaving the waterfall I left Karekare and headed back along the clifftops to Piha, heading down to the beach to watch the sunset which was impressive. I then headed to my accommodation for the night which was slightly inland from the beach, and it was a brilliant place to stay with an array of facilities. The owner even did a fire for us! I had one of my best nights sleep for a while.
On Sunday first stop was Kitekite falls, a less accessible waterfall which being a bigger walk to get to meant I had the waterfall to myself. It was another special site. I then headed through the woodland further climbing up and around back to the coast north of Piha. Here I headed to this headland where I got views north towards Anawhata. I then headed down to beach level where I followed the beach back to Piha. One of Piha most distinctive features is the Lion Rock which is a massive rock sitting on the beach which you could climb up. The views up top were once again amazing.
I then continued south along the beach to the Tasman lookout which once again presented brilliant views, heading back down the other side to see the keyhole and blowhole which are a set of features showcased by the waves. I then headed back round into Piha where I relaxed for a bit on the beach before heading back to Auckland, hitchhiking to the end of the road before getting the rail replacement bus back. I didn't arrive back until dark but it was a really good weekend! For dinner I treated myself to a dominoes before having an early night!
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