This full day tour is for lovers of nature and hiking, your experienced local nature guide will take you to a range of rainforest, beach and clifftop hikes. The black sand beaches and rainforest of West Auckland are unique in New Zealand and this tour is a great way to experience the best it has to offer. (3 x 1hr short hikes)
*GOOD LEVEL OF FITNESS REQUIRED. This tour is not suitable for people with any kind of mobility issues. The hikes involve stairs and gradient changes. please note areas visited will differ depending on weather & fitness levels of the clients on the day.
*We are unable to visit a waterfall at present due to track & road closures from cyclone in 2023.
Posted By : Extraordinary706747
So happy to have booked this tour. This was such a lovely day of hiking, exploring and learning about New Zealand. Our guide was fantastic and everyone staying in Auckland should do this tour!
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Posted On : 2024-05-18 19:48:21 
Posted By : Crystal_H
Chris was a great guide! We had three manageable hikes/walks. Our favorite was the beach walk at low tide but the walk down to the 600 year old Kauri tree was cool too (albeit a lot of uphill steps at the end). He took our fitness levels into consideration and gave us educational and interesting stories along the way.
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Posted On : 2024-05-18 15:48:46 
Posted By : Angie_B
Erin was fabulous! Cliff views, volcanic rock formations and beach views were so beautiful. Great Cafe for our take away picnic lunch too.
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Posted On : 2024-04-25 19:49:42
Posted By : jmacch
My wife and I along with another couple recently visited Auckland, New Zealand on a cruise vacation to the South Pacific. While there, we took this excursion. The bus was very comfortable and our group was quite small, which made the experience very enjoyable. Our guide was personable and very knowledgeable. We visited a rain forest and several scenic overlook areas with amazing views of the forest and lake scenery. We also visited a black sand beach. This excursion was very enjoyable.
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Posted On : 2024-04-13 18:27:18
Posted By : Travel_Beach_Love
It was one of the best tours I have taken and definitely a highlight of my trip to Auckland. As a nature lover, I found the guide to be super informative. The tour included many cool spots, from the rainforest walk to the black sand beach. Oh, and lunch was delicious. Should I return to Auckland, I would 100% book this tour again or another with Bush and Beach, as they were a terrific tour company!
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Posted On : 2024-04-12 12:48:59
Posted By : Stephen_P
The Bush and Beach staff (Mayrie sp?) were great, they made even a rainy day fun and interesting. Their knowledge of the area, and the animals/birds living in the Kurakure and Waitare ranges, was so helpful. Great day trip.
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Posted On : 2024-04-05 00:43:31
Posted By : Linda R
An excellent informative excursion to the rainforest and beach. Loved being able to select lunch and item for tea at the beach. Our guide was very knowledgeable and sensitive to the needs of her participants.
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Posted On : 2024-04-01 07:41:37
Posted By : Scenic52455136308
This was our first trip to New Zealand and our first tour with Bush and Beach. We are glad we chose this company. Chris, our guide, was already waiting for us in the lobby of our hotel. Our tour started on time with a wonderful hike through the rainforest. Afterwards we ate lunch (provided by the tour) at the Arataki Visitors Center. The lunch was picked up at the start of our journey from a local bakery: great choice of meat pies, sandwiches, wraps and pastry, all delicious and freshly made, drinks etc.
Then we headed to the west coast and we went on a second hike. This hike requires a reasonable level of fitness. It is for sure not suitable for passengers with limited mobility. I had to stop a few times to catch my breath when we were climbing. The views were spectacular.
Our last destination was the black sand beach, where we had about 30 minutes to wander around. The tour finished with a picnic on top of the hill, at a historic house open to public. We enjoyed stunning panoramic views of Auckland and the north island.
Our guide, Chris, did an excellent job throughout the entire tour. He was friendly and very knowledgeable of all the plants, trees, and the history of the area and its people.
We highly recommend this tour and our guide, Chris!
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Posted On : 2024-03-31 22:06:59
Posted By : Albin_L
Dan & Meredith were excellent guides in pointing out the indigenous plants, including the New Zealand kauri trees, birds, as well as geological features during the visits to Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, Piha Beach, and Arataki overlook. This is an day mini-tour to experience and learn more about some of the beauty of native New Zealand!
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Posted On : 2024-03-30 23:08:00
Posted By : X2693MUjonathanw
Great trip all around! Super friendly, personable and knowledgeable guide Murray, taught me a ton about the history and culture. Views were amazing, hikes weren't too vigorous for the common person. The Piha beach was awesome, rain pushed through just in time for us to get out and be able to have "cooler" sand enough to walk on and have great views of the surf and cliffs. Ridge hike gave us the top views and they didn't disappoint. Great photo opportunities about throughout the trip. Would recommend this trip, and I'm glad I started my trip with it, I felt so much smarter on my other trips having gained so much knowledge from Murray.
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Posted On : 2024-03-28 17:39:23
