The Beauty of Auckland's West Coast - New Zealand
The Beauty of Auckland's West Coast - New Zealand
Sarah
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Auckland's West Coast is often overlooked by travellers as you need a car to reach it and explore everything. When I visited, it exceeded my expectations and I fell in love with this rugged and wild coastline. The West Coast is part of the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park and is home to stunning black sand beaches, lush rainforest with waterfalls, one of NZ's most popular surf beaches and a gannet colony.
It is not far from Auckland but you will feel like entering a completely different world. This remote and untamed region is more than worth a visit and will for sure casts its spell over you.
A magical place that you should not miss out on and that can also be explored on a day trip if you have a tight schedule.
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KAREKARE
Karekare Beach
@sarahgeiger
Travelling down windy roads through the lush rainforest to the rugged coast will make you feel like stepping into an isolated world, far away from the hustle and bustle and with a huge feeling of peacefulness. This place gave me a Jurrasic Park feeling.
Karekare Beach is a sparkling black sand beach which is absolutely beautiful and invites for some long beach walks. Its stunning natural beauty exceeded all my expectations and I totally recommend it to everyone visiting Auckland's West Coast. It has also become known as it has been a filming location for the movie "The Piano".
The Karekare waterfall is just a short walk away.
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Karekare Falls
@sarahgeiger
This is a super beautiful waterfall close to Karekare Beach and just a short walk from the road. The waterfall is nestled in lush vegetation and a truly picturesque place that is also perfect for swimming in summer.
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PIHA
Kitekite Falls
@sarahgeiger
You can reach this beautiful 40 meter high waterfall after a 45 minute walk. This is one of the most famous waterfalls in the Waitakere Ranges and is great to cool off on a hot summer day.
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Piha Beach
@sarahgeiger
Piha Beach is also a black sand beach and popular with surfers but is also great for other activities such as swimming or a scenic coastal walk.
Because of strong currents it is suitable for experienced surfers and if you want to go swimming there will be flags indicating where you can do this in order to be safe.
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Lion Rock
@sarahgeiger
The iconic Lion Rock that sits at the middle of Piha Beach dominates the picture. It is a small island and it's possible to climb it, offering spectacular panoramic views.
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Tasman Lookout
@sarahgeiger
The track to Tasman Lookout starts at the southern end of Piha Beach and takes you up the cliffs. From the lookout you have amazing views over the entire Piha Beach, Lions Rock and this beautiful and wild, rugged landscape.
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The Blue Pool
@sarahgeiger
Following the track from the Tasman Lookout you will eventually get to The Blue Pool. A beautiful small bay, almost fully closed off from the ocean with waves swapping in through a small opening and over the lower rocks.
The track offers a great view down there and on all the beautiful rock formations around.
During low tide you can walk down there and walk back to Piha over the beach which is really recommendable.
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ANAWHATA
Anawhata Beach
@sarahgeiger
Due to its reachability only by foot, this is one of the West Coast's best kept secret beaches. This remote and untouched beach sits between Piha (to the south) and Bethells Beach (to the north) and even in summer it is rather empty there. If you are looking for a quiet spot to work on your summer tan where clothing is optional, this is the place for you to go to!
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BETHELLS BEACH
Te Henga (Bethells Beach)
@sarahgeiger
Another super beautiful volcanic black sand beach on Auckland's West Coast, only a 45 minute drive from the city. Bethells Beach is smaller than the other famous beaches and if you walk all the way to the south end you can find a pretty cool cave there that you can explore during low tide.
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MURIWAI
Muriwai Beach
@sarahgeiger
Muriwai is one of NZ's most impressive black sand surf beaches and extends 60 km along the coast. The scenery with the untamed and rugged coastline, cliff-top trails and a gannet colony make this place well worth a visit. If you're not into surfing there is also the option of having some fun renting a blokart to cruise over the beach.
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Muriwai Gannet Colony
@sarahgeiger
I mostly heard of Muriwai because of people who went surfing there. But there's also one of just 3 places in NZ where gannets nest on the mainland between August and March.
It's about 1200 pairs of gannets that nest here and it's quite impressive to see them from the cliff-top trail. All in one place, coming and going.
But also the view onto Muriwai Gannet Colony Beach with a beautiful sand drawing when I was there and the long stretch of Muriwai Beach was worth the visit.
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Muriwai Gannet Colony Beach
@sarahgeiger
A small but super beautiful stretch of beach right next to the trail that leads to the gannet colony.
You might be lucky and get to see a sand drawing like I did when I was there.
Make sure to stay for sunset as this is a great spot to see the sky turn into an artwork of beautiful colours.
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Thank you for reading till the end!
Have the best time during your visit on Auckland's West Coast!🙂
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah
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I'm trilingual. I offer my services here in English but I can also provide them in German 🇩🇪 and Spanish 🇪🇸 if you contact me ✨
Hi everyone 👋🏻
I'm Sarah from Germany and my biggest passion is everything related to travel. I not only LOVE to organize my own travels but also help others make travelling and especially planning easier. Below you can find some facts about me to get to know me a little better 😊
🌏 I'm backpacking solo around the world since 2017, exploring new places and cultures. I love to travel off the beaten path as I think this is the best way to experience local life and discover places away from mass tourism.
🗻 I've lived in New Zealand for 2,5 years, exploring this beautiful country in my van and I've also lived in Australia and Uruguay for one year each.
🥥 I always try to spend as much time as possible in one country to be able to explore it thoroughly. The first thing I usually do is wandering the streets to get a feel for the place, visiting local markets and also trying all the food.
🏞️🏝️ I love the outdoors, hiking, chasing waterfalls, driving around with the scooter, scuba diving and snorkeling.
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