Karekare is one of our favourite new weekend destinations here in Auckland. It’s one of the rough west coast beaches with wild nature, not many people around and black, soft volcano sand.

WE LOVE TO COME HERE ON THE WEEKENDS, since it is only a short drive away from the city. And it’s such a different world. Once you reach the Waitakere ranges suddenly the city setting disappears and nature steps in. It gets greener and greener and you are in the middle of a beautiful national park. You can take hikes or drive all the way down a narrow winding road to the Karekare beach (most people drive on to the more famous Piha beach, but we love Karekare even more now).