Piha Beach

In the afternoon we drove further on into the bush along windy roads till we came to a cliff top overlooking piha beach. This is a black (volcanic) sandy beach about two miles long with perhaps a hundred holiday homes on the cliff sides and next to the beach. It was almost deserted as it is still early spring and a bit fresh.

There is a huge rock called lion rock in the centre of the beach which we climbed and then we had a paddle in the tasman. The water was quite warm and a crab scuttled across my feet! It was not very windy but the waves were real surfing waves (apparently it is full of surfers in summer). The spray off the ocean was teriffic and the air smealt so clean.

We got back to Auckland in the dark (the skyline is amazing at night) and for the first time since we landed I didn't feel sick (I picked up a bug on the journey) so we had pie and chips in an irish bar in town. I don't know if it was the sea air giving me an appetite but it was the best steak and ale pie I ever tasted.