Libby really had only one request on the trip and that was to do some surfing. Well, better late than never, we are spending the last few days in the small surf town of Piha.
Piha is famous for surfing. And the black sand beach, which is too hot to walk on bare foot, is a draw for surfers of all levels. Piha is only 40 km from Aukland but to get there is a slow, steep and windy drive over the mountain and when you arrive you can feel the remoteness and the isolation. But the people we met were some of the friendliest and most accommodating.
We stayed for two nights at Piha Domain Camp, which is a two minute walk from the beach. There weren’t many stores or restaurants or places to stay at in Piha, and by 8:00 pm everything was shut down for the night. It was the perfect place to end our time in New Zealand.
We couldn’t wait to get to the beach. It was the perfect beach day and for a Wednesday, really busy. Turns out it was a national Holiday in New Zealand. Wednesday February 6, 2019 was Waitangi Day. Waitangi Day commemorates the signing, on 6 February 1840, of the Treaty of Waitangi. Ceremonies take place at Waitangi, Northland to commemorate the signing of the treaty, which is regarded as New Zealand’s founding document. The day is observed annually and is designated a public holiday.
We also spent part of the day looking for a surf school so that Libby could get a lesson and do a bit of surfing. For a surf town, this was more difficult to find than it should have been. We walked around for awhile and ended up at the Lion Rock Surf Shop. The resident surf instructor was away but we were given information and told to meet someone at the three surf board shaped signs outside the public washrooms on the beach at 10:00 am tomorrow morning. With those instructions, what could possibly go wrong!
The next morning we were up early again and went to the Piha Cafe for a quick breakfast and of course another delicious cappuccino (I was getting spoiled). Then it was off, with lots of time to spare, so we could find our surf instructors. We came across someone standing beside a van and surf boards and after taking to him it seemed like he was our guy. But, as it turned out, we were in the wrong spot. No harm done, we finally realized we were in the wrong spot and he pointed us in the right direction. Even though it was now after 10:00 am we found the right surf instructors who promptly got Libby suited up and gave her a quick on land instruction then sent her after the instructor who was already at the beach with the other two students. In the water she went and she had a great time.
A big shout out to Phil Wallace of Piha Surf School who was so friendly and helpful and to Iain ‘Ratso’ Buchanan at Lion Rock Surf Shop who gave us Phil’s contact information and arranged the lesson for Libby. I can’t thank them enough.
Piha Cafe, great coffee.
One of the last activities we did while in New Zealand was to hike to a waterfall, Kitekite Falls. This hike was easily walked to from our campsite in Piha and it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.
It's All About The Journey 