Activities
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Fishing is one of the great pleasures of Piha, although the fish are not so plentiful now as they once were. Trawlers out to sea have denuded many of the formerly common varieties, especially schnapper. In the 30s and 40s the Piha Surf Club raised money for new gear by selling fish, originally caught from the surf boat. The favoured fishing spot was a schnapper biscuit ground opposite Cub Rock at North Piha. Tom Pearce named the ground 'Zeelander', after the biggest fishing ground in the Atlantic. The fish were plentiful and most weighed around eight pounds. The ground was later broken up by trawlers. |
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Surf Club members in this photograph from
the late 1930s are (from left) |
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President: Rodger Curtice,
Phone: 025 745 085 The Piha Fishing Club is an incorporated society with members who engage in various forms of recreational fishing including big game fishing and rock fishing. History Boats have been launched from the beach at Piha for several decades. Unlike some nearby beaches which are completely exposed to the surf, Piha has a rocky outcrop at the extreme southern end of the beach which, in low surf conditions and at certain states of the tide, provides the protection need to launch and retrieve boats up to 6 metres in length. Boating from Piha has a long tradition, the first boat having been launched from Piha in 1910, during milling days and long before land subdivision. With the establishment of the surf club in the 1930s, fishing from the surf boat was a regular event and an important way for the surf club to raise funds. A beach front landowner, Dr Colin Finlay, built the Hazel Irene, the first motorised boat, in the 1940s and constructed a boatshed under the cliffs on the way to The Gap which is still visible today (the boatshed was an attempt to enable the launching of a craft into surf at a time when the engine power was limited. It was unsuccessful). By the 1950s three motorised surf boats were in use - Hazel Irene, Kawerau, and Harmony - sometimes for fishing or scuba diving. Since then fishing from boats launched from the beach has been a regular recreational activity at Piha. Fishing from the rocks also has a long history at Piha. Favourite fishing spots are Dawson's Ledge and Flat Rock at The Gap, the front of the Camel Rock, reached through The Keyhole, the front of Lion Rock and the northern end of North Piha. All these locations can be dangerous in certain surf conditions and there have been a number of drownings. Newcomers should always check conditions with locals or surf patrols to see that they are suitable. |
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Piha is ringed by the glorious Waitakere Ranges, 15,000 hectares of hills, the highest 500 metres above sea level, covered in mature and regenerating native bush. One-third of this area is water catchment for Auckland city, with dams at Nihotupu, Huia and Waitakere. Piha has a large number of tracks of varying lengths and rigour, from gentle strolls in the bush to demanding treks involving fording streams and climbing up gorges. All of the walks are administered by the Auckland Regional Council and most are located within the Waitakere Ranges. More information about these and maps can be found at the ARC's Arataki Park Information Centre on the Scenic Drive, east of the Waiatarua turnoff to Piha. There are also maps at the Piha Library and at the end of Glen Esk Road at Piha. None of the tracks in the immediate Piha area involves overnight stays but people have been known to get lost in the bush. Always tell people what you are doing, check weather, stay on tracks, and take adequate food and clothing. At the south end of the Piha beach the Tasman Lookout Track gives wonderful clifftop views of the beach and leads to The Gap. There is no access down to The Gap from this track - you should return the way you came. The Gap can also be reached at low tide by walking round the rocks at the south end of the beach or via the sandbank when the tide is very low. This route takes you past the Green Rock and an old boat shed, an abortive effort by a local boat owner to beat the surf that challenged the success of early boat launching. On the right as you walk is the great rocky mound of Taitomo Island (Camel Rock), still in the ownership of the local Maori iwi, Te Kawerau a Maki. The passage through the rock is called the Keyhole and provides a route via a cut rocky shelf to a fishing spot on the front of the Camel. Further on is The Gap itself, with the Blue Pool, a natural swimming hole formed when the tide recedes. There are great views here, watching the waves surging at The Gap. You can climb the rocky cliff to the right of The Gap and see the waves breaking over the Wedding Cake rock below. Behind the little bay is the Blowhole and a clifftop area known as the Tennis Courts because of the perfectly flat sward of coastal succulents. Both these are on private property. Between Piha and North Piha beaches is the Lion Rock. A steep climb to the top (101m) provides spectacular sweeping views of the whole area. In late 1999 the top end of the track was blocked by a rock fall. At the far northern end of North Piha, reached by a final cove in the beach, is the steep Laird Thompson Track to neighbouring White's Beach. This goes over Te Waha Point, the distinctive end promontory of North Piha. At the entrance to the Marawhara Stream, opposite the North Piha Camping Club on Marine Parade North, are two tracks. One is a more gradual route to White's Beach, the other takes you a short way into the Marawhara Gorge. The main departure point for tracks into the Waitakere Ranges is at the end of Glen Esk Road, which heads inland by the Piha Domain. This whole area was milled for kauri from 1910 to 1921 and the end of the road is where the mill and mill houses were located. Stedfast Park - the flat area, now owned by the Boys' Brigade - is where the mill itself was, and the area to the south of the road is where the mill houses, school and store were built. Milling stopped in 1921, and although there are no giant kauri, a generation of kauri rickers are now pushing their distinctive heads above the bush canopy. The ranges have a rich variety of native trees and other plants. Four main tracks radiate out from here: Kitekite Track, Byers Track, Piha Valley Track and Home Track. |
Kitekite Falls from the
Knutzen Track. |
The Kitekite Track leads to the impressive three-tiered Kitekite Falls - the Knutzen Track leads off this (named after the early manager of the Piha Mill) taking a route to the south of the Kitekite Stream to reach the falls. The return route is by the north side. Off this track a steep track can take you to the top of the falls, where there are small cold pools for taking a dip and notches in the rocks where the Glen Esk Dam was located. The first attempt to drive logs down the falls resulted in their destruction on the rocks below and the dam was thereafter only used to flush the logs waiting in the stream below down to the mill. Tracks at the top of the falls lead inland through the ranges to various outlets on the West Coast Road. Another track leading off the end of Glen Esk Road is the flat, easy Byers Track which takes you through old bush with tall trees festooned with supplejacks. There are picnic areas off this track. |
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The Piha Valley Track is one of the main walking tracks and follows the Piha Stream high into the ranges, linking up with other tracks. You can keep on going for a long distance here, right back to Scenic Drive via the Cutty Grass Track - one of the few tracks to go through the watershed area of the ranges - if you are feeling fit. A natural stopping place on the Piha Valley Track is the Black Rock Dam, with timber remnants of one of the Piha mill dams. From here you can walk back via the Home Track, which was the route the bush men used to get back to the mill village. There are remnants here of large felled kauri as well as cathedral-like groves of young kauri trees. Home Track comes out at the end of Glen Esk Road. The Black Rock Dam can also be reached through the Piha Gorge, a route for the fit as it involves climbing the rocky faces of the gorge and wading chest-high in water. |
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Green grassy spots for picnics can be found at a few places at Piha.
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Piha Yoga Classes are held at the Barnett Hall, North Piha Road on Saturdays at 10.30 am. The teacher is Melodie Batchelor, Junior Intermediate, Iyengar Yoga Cert. Classes are 90 minutes duration and cost $7.00 The class is designed to be suitable for all age groups and levels of fitness. Iyengar Yoga is the 'no impact' way to create more flexibility and mobility in your body. With attention to detail and alignment the body is strengthened. Synchronised breath with the posture strengthens the lungs, producing fitness. Currently those enjoying class are board
riders, runners, teachers, business people, artists , people recovering
from injury or surgery, the young and the old. |
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Piha
Gorge in the Waitakere Ranges.