Piha Beach viewed from above. The road descends steeply to the beach itself, where there is a collection of houses and "bachs" - a bach being a small dwelling used as holiday/vacation accomodation.

Piha Beach lies on the west coast of New Zealand, to the north-west of Auckland. Piha is a popular location for surfers, although our visit was in the late afternoon on a day outside the surfing season, so the beach was largely deserted.

The "mist" effect on the landward side of the beach is caused by spray from the waves that crash onto Piha from the Tasman Sea.