Awesome Piha, a beach for the wary

Hundreds flocked to Piha yesterday to enjoy a classic New Zealand summer day off. REBECCA WALSH reports.

What could be better?

Clear sky, miles of beach, that distinctive smell of the sea and a light breeze to keep you cool as you relax and begin the holiday season.

Hundreds of people packed boogie boards, sun umbrellas and chilly bins filled with Christmas Day leftovers and made their way to Piha Beach for Boxing Day.

Dogs on leads weaved their way between clusters of family groups dotted among the sand while children built sandcastles and played in the shallows.

Parents took a moment to catch up on some reading or a year's news with family and friends.

Teenagers in bands of three and four surreptitiously checked each other out from behind their sunglasses.

Overseas visitors marvelled at the beauty of the beach and its dark sand.

Not even the clouds that gathered later in the afternoon, blanketing the sky, were enough to stem the flow of cars winding down the hill, heading for their own piece of classic New Zealand.

It was a good day. The water was warm, the waves were gentle - by Piha standards - and most swimmers kept between the flags.

But on Christmas Day an 11-year-old girl drowned while swimming about 300m north of Lion Rock. Most Boxing Day beachgoers were unaware of the tragedy.

Titirangi woman Star Olson, who visits Piha a couple of times a week, said she always swam between the flags and never went deeper than her waist.

"I think it's an awesome beach but I'm always really wary," she said.

"If I feel like having a good swim and relax in the ocean I tend to go to east coast beaches."

A group of teenage girls in bikini tops and board shorts emerged from the surf.

"We don't go real deep, we stick to our limits," one said.

Travellers from around the world had made their way to Piha to experience a slice of the North Island's west coast.

Norma and Pip Weldon, from land-locked Zimbabwe, were enjoying swimming at a different beach every day. It made a good change from the bath where they went to escape the African heat.

"It's a totally different scene. We are lapping up the scenery, the people are so friendly," they said.

Robert Strong and his family from Melbourne were first-time visitors to New Zealand and had hired a house not far from the sea for a month.

"We found this nice place on the internet," they said. "We thought Piha looked interesting and dramatic."

Most of us would probably agree.