Piha - May 7, 2010

We spent a sunny afternoon on the beaches near Piha. These beaches are famous for their amazing (but very dangerous) surf conditions. They have black volcanic sand, which in the middle of the summer can get REALLY hot! Luckily it was nice and cool when we went; it's already autumn here.


The black sand is magnetic! Take a look at Jesse's money clip:


Every year thousands of people flock to these beaches to catch the surf and there are many drownings each year. Over the past 5 years there have been an average of 114 people drowning annually in NZ, a big chunk of those are at Piha. The beach has very strong rip currents that carry swimmers out to sea. It's so dangerous that there's actually a reality TV show called Piha Rescue that follows the Beach Life Guards (Baywatch meets Rescue 911??). We'll put off our surf lessons for a beach that's a little more tame.







Cinnamon Buns?