Before getting to Auckland I had thought that the place was just another business city with nothing to do, but I could not have been more wrong. My couchsurfing hosts Jan and Matylda from Norway and Poland were both quite outdoorsy and showed me all kinds of hikes and day trips that could be done from their home.
The next morning we were all up and ready in our hiking outfits heading to the area around the surfing village Piha, just half an hour drive from Auckland. First we went to the black sand beach to pick some shells and watch the surfers fight their way out through the rough waves. We walked an half an hour track leading up to a viewpoint and back down to the beach to get to our next spo, the kite kite track leading up to a cascade waterfall. The walks were both easy, but scenic and good to get a good lock at the flora and fauna in the country where I will spend the next few weeks.
