Piha

Approximately 28km to the west of Auckland, there is a little piece of surfers' paradise called Piha. As one of the locales told us: there are those that have a apartment or house in the city and visit often, those that have a house in Piha and commute to the city, and those that are lucky enough to have both.

Once you depart the city, the winding route allows you your first glance of the famous New Zealand sheep. They, and their friends the goats, chickens, and occasional donkey, are nonchalently grazing against the backdrop of the Waitakere Range forests. After a few more minutes, we entered the Waitakere Range for ourselves. The road is a test of will for those of us prone to motion sickness; it winds up and around, incredibly narrow and facepaced. As you near Piha, the forest is replaced by rugged coastline. The road remains nerve-racking with certain death to the left and cliffs to the right, I give kudos to my husband's foritude, but the view is beautiful.

Rising out of the beach is the Lions Rock, this natural rock formation serves to separate the north and south beaches. At the top, you can enjoy the panaromic view of the forests, the cliffs, and of course, the beaches below with their crashing waves. Despite the chilly afternoon, Mikaela took full advantage of our outing. She ran wild on the beach, chased ducks, and climbed the Lions Rock. Piha is worth returning to...