Karekare Explorer

[Last Updated: Sat 13th, 9:10pm]
We return to the wild and beautiful West Coast at Karekare to further explore this area.

Starting from the Karekare carpark, the walk heads inland past Karakare Falls up to Werera, loops back, then heads north up the coastal cliffs towards Piha, loops back, then down to the beach and back to carpark. Good views of the upper valley, beach, and coastline can be seen from viewpoints along the way.

Click the map photo to see the planned route.

Distance: about 8km
Duration: 3-4 hours
Track quality: good
Grade: Mostly uphill and downhill walking with some steep sections. Moderate (for hikers) Hard in places (for those not used to steep climbs)

Getting there: We'll car pool from New World as much as possible. If you think you might drive please print directions to Karekare beach carpark or have a map in the car. If you'd like to meet us there, that's fine, just let us know so we can meet up. We'll plan to start the walk from the carpark at around 10.30am.

Bring: lunch, waterproofs, enough water, money if carpooling.

We will explain the walk at the beginning. It may help if you study the map beforehand, and if you have the ability to print it and bring it with you it may help at track intersections etc. It would be appreciated if people could look out for those behind when there are any intersections and just wait up every now and again to make sure the group stays on track.

Meeting at New World:
CLICK HERE (https://hiking.meetup.com/171/boards/thread/5419717/) to see more details about meeting here.

Meeting in Karekare Carpark:
We'll gather near the information notice board at the southwest corner of the carpark.

Time Guideline:

• 09:15 - Arrive at New World (if meeting there) and organise carpooling.
• 09:30 - Start leaving New World.
• 09:40 - Everyone should have left New World by now.
• 10:30 - Everyone should be at Karekare by now. We'll gather and explain the route, etc.
• 10:45 - We should have started walking by now. Everyone is free to walk at their own pace, or stay with the group (usually fairly average pace). We'll stop at some intersections and viewpoints along the way, with a longer stop for lunch, probably at Te Ahua Point.
• 14:45 - Should reach Karekare Beach (near end of walk) before now. Perhaps allow an extra hour or so on beach if fine day?
• 16:00 - Probably leave Karekare around this time.
• 17:00 - Back in city around this time.

NOTE: The larger the group the more important it is not to keep everyone waiting, so please be on time. Warning: we may not wait long for late people - if you are late you may have to catch up :-)

NOTE: Later times are very approximate and could vary a lot depending on weather, mood, etc. If you need to get back early or want to have the option of staying much later then it is probably better to travel independently or at least make sure everyone travelling with you has the same idea.

Please try to be as well prepared and informed as you can. Have everything you need before leaving. If you need to buy anything from New World, arrive earlier. Make sure you have good idea of the route before we start walking. Study the map and this description :-)

Look forward, see you there.