Piha Beach is a beach at Puni, Franklin, holding a 4.8 rating from visitors.
Piha is New Zealand's most famous surf beach, a black iron-sand stretch on the west coast where powerful surf rolls in straight off the Tasman Sea. The weather here can turn moody, misty and wild with little warning, and the black sand is notorious for getting everywhere and heating up underfoot in summer, so it pays to come prepared rather than expecting a gentle day at the seaside. The small community living around the beach is largely self-reliant, without reticulated water or sewerage, trading town conveniences for clean air, ocean and bush on their doorstep. It's a place that rewards respect for the conditions rather than treating it like a sheltered swimming beach.
For anyone chasing real west coast surf and scenery, Piha Beach delivers exactly that.