Lions Rock at Piha Beach, New Zealand

Then onto Piha beach where the aptly named lions rock is based. Initially we stopped at a lookout over the beach on the drive down and were  searching for the infamous “lions rock” guessing it must be that great lump down on the beach.

Once the car was parked up the boys got changed into their costumes and clever responsible mummy suggested there was no point in wearing shoes (on the basis of something else to lug around)…. big mistake… note to self… if one does not want sore blisters on the soles on feet …then wear shoes… the sand was scorching hot. I felt like one of those Indian performers who do their fancy trick of running over hot coals, but oh no I didn’t just have a meter or so to cover…my little chicken run over the hot coals seemed to take an eternity and dropping a towel at the half way point wasn’t a good move either. By the time I eventually reached cool water to extinguish my poor feet the boys were already having way too much fun in the water.

Now Piah beach is a complete contrast to the tranquil calm waters of the east coast such as Takapuna beach. Oh no, this was surfers paradise with great waves. Put it this way the life guards on this beach were not sitting down on their phones in a beach hut with a pair of binoculars. Here they were standing at the waters edge the whole time with a life boat zooming around over the waves herding people to swim between the flags. 

Piha Beach

The boys were under strict instructions to not venture deeper than hip height, however the waves were pretty deceptive breaking far out and then one great one comes along to surprise everyone. It took under a minute before the smaller of the two took the full hit and was soaking from head to foot…  but unsurprisingly that didn’t stop him and back again he went for more. Despite the waves this beach was loads of fun (if not slightly dangerous) one we definitely need to come back to with our boogie boards.

Guess who was the one to get soaked first?

Once on the beach too it became quite apparent as the lump on the beach we had previously viewed from our look-out turned into the shape of a great lion sitting staring out to sea… Trafalgar Square lions, you are now mere babies in my eyes!

Lions Rock at Piha Beach

We would have loved to stay longer but again time was a ticking and we had to crack on and get to see these little birdies nesting on a rock, so off we drove to Muriwai which I'll continue in the next blog entry.