Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
HILLARY TRAIL
My family grew up loving Auckland's wild west coast, where the Tasman Sea pounds the black-sand beaches and
black-back gulls ride the westerlies. Our family has walked and explored and lived out here for nearly a century
and this is also where we came to grieve after my mother and sister were killed in 1975, where the invigorating
salty air and the marvellous wild vistas to the Tasman Sea worked like a balm for our broken hearts. My father
would come here to dream up and then prepare for new expeditionary challenges. It seemed the right sort of en-
vironment for someone like him: not a passive coastline, but active and exciting, with huge cliffs, crashing waves,
thick bush and a tantalising far-away horizon.
Peter Hillary, Mountaineer & Explorer
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Karekare
Few stretches of sand have more personality than Karekare. Those prone to metaphysical
musings inevitably settle on descriptions such as 'spiritual' and 'brooding'. Perhaps his-
tory has left its imprint: in 1825 it was the site of a ruthless massacre of the local Kawerau
iwi
by Ngapuhi invaders. Wild and gorgeously undeveloped, this famous beach has been
the setting for onscreen moments both high- and lowbrow, from Oscar-winner
The Piano
,
to
Xena, Warrior Princess
.
From the car park the quickest route to the black-sand beach involves wading through a
stream. Karekare rates as one of the most dangerous beaches in the country, with strong
surf and ever-present rips, so don't even think about swimming unless the beach is being
patrolled by lifeguards (usually only in summer). In 1995 Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder
nearly drowned here while visiting Neil Finn's Karekare pad.
Follow the road over the bridge and up along Lone Kauri Rd for 100m, where a short
track leads to the pretty
Karekare Falls
. This leafy picnic spot is the start of several walking
tracks.
Karekare has no shops of any description and no public transport. To get here take
Scenic Dr and Piha Rd until you reach the well-signposted turn-off to Karekare Rd.
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