White’s Beach is a small beach to the north of Piha. On the headland between North Piha and White’s Beach, the Te Waha point was the site of one of Piha’s pa. Today, this small headland, surrounded by steep cliffs, is the home to grey-faced petrels, which nest in the ground around the roots of pohutukawa.

White’s Beach is reached either by climbing the Laird Thomson Track which runs off Kohunui Bay at the end of North Piha, or by taking the Marawhara Walk (entrance off North Piha Road, opposite the North Piha Campers’ Club campground), which then joins the White’s Beach Track which climbs fairly relentlessly up to Anawhata Rd.

White’s Beach

You then walk down a long steep concrete drive to end up above White’s Beach and then take the track down to the shore.

There are great views over much of this route back over Piha and then looking down into White’s Beach. White’s Beach is remote, has beautiful sand dunes, and you probably shouldn’t swim except in really calm conditions.

White’s Beach is named after Francis White, a blacksmith, whose son Francis negotiated the purchase of much of the West Coast land from Te Kawerau a Maki. In 1861 Francis gained a Crown Grant for 600 acres north of Piha. He was probably hoping to mill the kauri in the area, but that defeated many at Piha because of the difficulties in getting logs out.