Getting out of Auckland City: Piha and Kitekite Waterfalls

In need of a break like me? Stuck inside job hunting and researching 9-5 isn’t much fun, so I recently opted to take the day out and head out of Auckland City to the beach and forest, to remind myself of why I returned to New Zealand from London: for the lifestyle.

New Zealand has a very outdoors lifestyle, we have stunning nature and wildlife and often only a stones throw from the cities. Piha is one of these. Just over an hour from the city (depending where you’re based) you can be sat on a black sand west-coast beach.

It’s a beautiful drive with lots of bushes and then a stunning coastal drive down a hill. On this particular day it was very windy so after checking out the beach I took to the local cafe (about the only one in Piha). Sadly the sausage roll wasn’t up to standard and crumbled to pieces, but it was a nice break from the house.

Onwards to Kitekite Waterfalls. I’d found out about this spot on an Auckland tourism website and thought a 30-45min walk would be a nice way to finish my day. It was a stunning walk through ferns and other shades of green trees, along a stream and up into the Waitakere Ranges. The views out over the bushland was exactly what I needed, this serenity was just stunning.

I was probably the only New Zealander doing the walk, as I past several tourists, but it wasn’t overly busy, but it reminded me of being a tourist in my own country.

Just a few minutes before the falls, I could hear the gushing sounds and came across a stunning viewpoint of the height of the falls. This made me realise how I’ve done some huge walks all over the world to visit waterfalls that were not nearly as beautiful as these ones. Granted, they were anything like Iguazu Waterfalls, but they were free to visit!

From the base, you can’t see how tall the falls are, but you do get a feel for how cold the water is!

This made me realise how much more I need to see of New Zealand to really appreciate the amazing country I come from. Hopefully over the coming year if I’m still based here I’ll get a chance to do just that.