The Pōhutukawa Walk to Karekare Beach
An access route to the south end of stunning Karekare Beach, the Pōhutukawa Walk Te Ara Tūhura is an easy walk from the Karekare car park on Karekare Road on the south side of the Karekare Stream. This walk is particularly appealing in December when the pōhutukawa trees are in bloom, with a vibrant display of red flowers.
Walking Through Pōhutukawa Trees and Dunes
To begin your walk, you'll enter a grassy area surrounded by a grove of mature pōhutukawa trees. This spot is perfect for a picnic, providing shade from the sun and a respite from the black sand beach. From there, follow the track between the cliff line and the dunes towards Karekare Point until you reach the entrance near the dunes. The track is grass to begin with, then turns to sand as you approach the beach.
At the beach, you will have the cliffs of the point on your left, Paratahi Island to the southwest and the Watchman to the north, looking over the north entrance to the beach from the car park, about 500 metres across a wide section of the beach.
Walking to the Lagoons
An interesting extension of the walk is to head south, roughly following the cliff line around Karekare Point. After 800 metres to 1 km, you will discover a pretty extensive area of lagoons below the cliffs, with the dune system expanding to the west between the cliffs and beach. The lagoons provide mirror reflections on a calm day. Continuing along the edge of the lagoons takes you to a formed track and Tunnel Point, part of an old tramway that existed to haul kauri logs from Piha and Karekare to Whatipū. There is a campsite, next to another lagoon, on the other side of the short tunnel, with some old haulage gear.
From there, you can continue to the Pararha Valley and follow the Gibbons and Muir Tracks to Whatipū. Alternatively, follow the track west and head through he dunes to the beach. Then walk to the beach to Karekare, past Paratahi Island, to complete a loop.
How to Get There
Access to the Pōhutukawa Walk is via the short Karekare Road bridge over the Karekare Stream from the car park. The walk is about 15 minutes each way. It is about 2.5 km to Tunnel Point and 6 km to do the loop, about a 2-hour walk.
Other nearby short walks include a few minutes to Karekare Falls along Karekare Road, Comans Track and the Ahu Ahu Track.
