Karekare Beach

Karekare Beach is the quiet and romantic neighbor of busy-busy Piha. The romance of Karekare stems from no commercialization at the beach, having to walk 10 minutes to get to the sand, and, of course 1993’s The Piano. All told, a much mellower scene than Piha. Watching a sunset from Kk’s dunes is serene…just sun, sand, and surf…no hoons or horns. Nice.

Kk’s happening surf scene is at the north end of the beach. If you want quiet and solitude simply head south. Around the south headland the blacksand stretches 8km to Whatipu and these lonely sands seem to draw the artist/naturist/soul-searching types. Don’t be surprised to find naked sunbathers sauntering southward (or, like I did, a live-action lingerie photoshoot!)

Karekare is not all just beach beach beach—its fern-jungle bush tracks are epic!

Try these:

Karekare Falls/Waiwera Lookout. Just up the road past the carpark you’ll find the short track to the idyllic falls. From the falls a 2km loop track heads up to the 200m viewpoint then back down to Kk road.

Comans/Mercer Bay loop. This loop track tours the cliff tops north of Kk. I haven’t done it, but people highly recommend it.

Zion Hill/Pararaha/Kk beach loop. This 2-hour mod/difficult loop is fantastic—a little of everything in one neat package! First some views over Kk beach, then a tour of thick Kauri ricker/ fern jungle, then a planked walkway out to the Pararaha dunes, followed by a dune/ beach walk punctuated by a historic tramway tunnel. Classic!!

Details: Find the Zion Hill track on the south side of the carpark and climb to 272m Mt. Zion. Stay right at Ridge junction, then right onto Buck Taylor down to the planked walkway. It’s probably muddy/wet here, so take off your shoes now because you’ll have to wade knee-deep to get to the dunes anyway. Go right atop the dune about 10 minutes to the tunnel (see Whatipu entry for history.) Head out to the beach and back to Kk. (note: Whatipu is about a 90-minute beach walk south from Pararaha.)

Pararaha Stream adventure. It’s possible to navigate the stream between its mouth and the Odlin Timber track…but regrettably Mother Nature and her rainy ways have conspired to keep me away. Damn! Can’t tell you how difficult or fun it really is…but, if you check Arataki’s 3-D track guide thingy, you can see plenty of exciting views. Drop me an email and lemme know how it goes.

Excerpt from "NZ Frenzy Guidebook" by Scott Cook