Today we met Joe at Circus Circus, a really great breakfast cafe on Mt. Eden.
He then came along with us to show us around Karekare and Piha beaches.
First, we went to the tourist information center for the Waitakere Range, a wilderness area once full of kauri forests until they were logged almost to extinction. They are starting to make a comeback now.
Next, we drove to Karekare, the beach featured in the movie, 'The Piano'. It is really pristine and beautiful. If you look back at the beach there is almost no sign of civilization. There are few summer homes nestled in the trees, but you can't even see them from the beach. The sand is made from iron and very dark. It is also extremely hot (much hotter than white sand). Joe was very knowledgeable about the movie and he even showed us the tree the posh lady from the movie chose to pee under while her servants held her skirts...We then walked to a nearby waterfall. It was tempting to swim in the pool below it, but then Joe mentioned the eels that live there so we opted not to jump in.
Finally, we drove to Piha Beach, a popular surfing spot. The beaches on the west coast can be very dangerous because of the strong undercurrents. Fortunately, Joe knew about a secret cove where we could swim in a natural wave pool away from the surfers. It was an idyllic spot. I took a picture of it from the hillside above. It was really fun bouncing over the waves after they had crashed on the rocks behind us. Joe told us that when Pearl Jam was in New Zealand Eddy Veder had to be rescued by the lifeguards because of the strong currents. He invited them to the concert that night and told everyone the story.
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