A hike to the Kitekite falls look-out, and scouting the Piha beach!!

Kitekite Falls is about a 1-hour drive from Auckland City. Take the road to Piha from Auckland. Once you get to Piha, turn right into Glen Esk road. You can park your car here. At the end of the Glen Esk road, there are walking tracks with clearly sign-posted directions.

Take the Kitekite track by the large kauri stump. The track follows the Glen Esk stream through the lush rainforest. It's a relatively easy walk with some steep sections. This well graded track takes you to the view-point where you can enjoy the beautiful 132 feet 3 tiered Kitekite waterfalls. At this point you could enjoy the great view and do some photography at the lookout, which is what I did. There are great views of the water-falls and the valley around. There's a bench where you can relax. You can also take the wooden stairs to the base of the waterfalls (a steep descent) and enjoy a swim at the swimming-hole . Give this hike about 45min-1 hour each way, depending on your fitness levels.

Once you are done, back track along the same trail to the Glen Esk road to your parking spot. You can drive to the Piha Beach near by which is less than five minutes drive via the beach valley road. Once you get there, from the parking-lot it's a 5 minute walk to the actual beach.

This is a stunning black-sand beach with wild surf. This beach draws seasoned surfers and is relatively isolated. If you get into the water, be cautious of the surf and only swim between the flags. This is the most popular beach in the Auckland's west coast. Don't miss the Climb Lion Rock, Piha's most popular land-mark. Piha beach is a rugged beauty with black volcanic sands, rocky terrain and notoriously wild surf. To me this was a total chill and capture/enjoy the scenery trip.

There are bath-rooms and changing sheds in the middle of the beach. There is also a place close to the beach: Blair's on the Beach where you can buy ice-creams, drinks and food.

Once you are done, you can drive back to Auckland or what-ever your destination is. I would say this is a must-do if you are in Auckland.