Piha Beach is only 40km from Auckland city and it’s one of the best escapes – for the stunning wild and wonderful surf and that beautiful black sand that sticks to your toes. But there’s a walk close by that’s absolutely magic too for a family stroll.
If you haven’t been before, you should check out Kitekite Falls walk in the Waitakere Ranges.

The walk kicks off at the end of Glen Esk Rd and the walk is well signposted; you can’t get lost. A colossal kauri tree stump greets you around here and my kids love to hide in it and pretend it’s a play house.

You must use special spray bottle provided here to blast your shoes to stop a lethal pathogen that is attacking our beautiful kauri trees.

On the walk you encounter a stream, bridges, beautifully-made steps including some that even spiral, and the lush bush here is an absolute escape. Feel the stress from your shoulders evaporate… The air here is just so fresh and energising. But the star of this show is the falls. You’ll stop in your tracks and “wow” will escape from your lips. You glimpse this multi-drop waterfall, that’s 40m high, first through the bush. Then minutes later the falls are near your toes and you rock-hop past it. You can swim here if you’re brave and don’t mind an ice-cold dip.

The walk takes 60-minutes all up if you take it leisurely – or shorter if your strides are strong and you’re not waiting for little ones to catch up.

By the way a doctor named this place. He felt the area reminded him of Scotland. Glen means valley (Gaelic) & Esk means water (Celtic).

ps. A great website on Piha is www.piha.co.nz which gives great ideas on things to do and info about the place.