Piha Waterfalls and Wines
Description
Want to keep your afternoon free, or have a flight to catch , this shorter morning edition of our full day Piha Waitakere Ranges Wine Tour takes you to see Piha black sand beach settlement and then the tranquil and serene Karekare Waterfalls. Before you are delivered back to the Auckland Sky Tower you will be able to taste wine at Soljans Vineyard in Kumeu. The Soljans Family can boast 5 generations of wine production in Auckland and are still family owned. They produce Methode Traditionelle, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewürtztraminer, Pinot Noir, sparkling Muscat, Pinotage and Merlot Cabernet Malbec blends – They also produce a 10 year aged Tawny Port that you will try.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Piha is a seaside coastal settlement, one of several around a 50 minute drive from the Auckland Central Business District. We drive up through the Henderson Valley the historic pioneering heartland of the New Zealand Wine industry where many Croation winemakers settled and started out by harvesting the ancient Kauri Trees for timber and gum, an early export. Piha is famous for its volcanic magnetic black iron sand and is a very popular outpost to visit for locals and tourists alike. Travellers will stop at the Piha Lookout for magnificent views of the Settlement below before driving down and walking on the beach. The coastal Tasman Sea is very dramatic to look at, but also dangerous with rips and large waves and stormy weather conditions in winter. In summer it is a surfers paradise and has held host to the world under 16 surf championships. Enjoy time on both South and North Piha beaches and see the iconic Lion Rock.
Karekare is another settlement close to Piha in the Waitakere ranges. The waterfall is one of several beautiful natural falls a 15 minute walk into the rainforest. Within this protected forest, you will see a 500 year old Pohutukawa Tree, a species that New Zealanders colloquially call the native New Zealand Christmas tree, because it only flowers for one month in December. You will will see a broad range of other different native plants and trees including the native flax and unique "Silver Fern" New Zealand's most famous icon. At the foot of the falls there are several Nikau Palms, the world's most southerly growing Antipodean Palm Tree. Most of the pathway leading to the waterfall has been gravelled for safety. Occasionally in the fall you will see ducks and native eels that curiously come to the surface to look at people. The drive in the forest from Piha to Karekare is 20 minutes and the walk from the car park to the falls is 10 mins We spend around 20 mins by the Karekare falls.
Soljans Estate is a fifth generation family wine company established in 1937. Pioneers in New Zealand wine making, they produce sparkling Methode Traditionelle, Rose' Wines, Estate barrique fermented Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and a small amount of Pinotage. Their Marlborough grower supplies them with Gewurtztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. They produce barrel aged Syrah and Cabernet blends from Hawkes Bay and sweet sparkling Muscat from Gisborne. They also have an enviable reputation for their 10 year Tawny Port aged in giant 3400 litre handmade Totara casks. Soljans also have a souvenir shop and can arrange shipping of any of their wines to your door in Australia, the UK and the United States. You will try a minimum of five wines in the cellar door and Soljans aim to accommodate different palates and preferences on the day.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We only collect from Hotels or Accommodations with drive-throughs or dedicated loading zones. If your hotel is not listed contact us and we will let you know your closest meeting point. This tour only returns to Sky City Hotel by the Sky Tower - No Exceptions.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Minimum drinking age is 18 years
- The total time spent driving in the vehicle for this scenic tour is approximately 3 hours
- Not recommended for clients with knee or hip disabilty
Reviews(9)
Driver/ owner / tour guide was amazing. Knew all about the wines as well as the countryside. He managed to provide interesting dialog all the way to the various locations. Has half day 1 winery and full day 2 wineries. Both had excellent wines.
Hi Donald, Thanks for booking the tour and thanks for the great review. I hope you'll follow NZWINEPRO® on Facebook or Instagram where I post interesting things I come across on tour. Best regards - John McFarlane
We booked this activity through Viator several weeks in advance. We received confirmation and tickets. We arrived at the pickup location early and messaged the operator to ensure we were in the right location. We did not receive a response. Contacted Viator directly who spoke with the operator wan advised that we had not been out on their calendar. We had one day in Auckland and were left with no tour as everything else was booked. So unprofessional and they didn’t even respond to us. I would give them zero stars if I could. Nothing was offered to compensate for this oversight.
Hi Pink, We collect from 14 major hotels and cruise ships from the Port. Normally when we receive a booking through Viator we respond to it asking where the client is staying so that we can schedule their pickup in a logical order depending on the number of pickups and their locations around the Auckland central business district The client responds and the booking is confirmed. This is all done through the email intranet or chat system that is part of the Viator booking system. You received an automated E ticket that said "confirmed" but that is not a confirmation from the operator , that's a confirmation that you simply have a ticket. When you buy an Airline ticket you are still required to check in and it's the same with us. In your case, the booking never got put in the calendar so we did not know there was a booking until Viator phoned us which was the first communication we had with you through them. You booked something and never contacted us prior to the departure date and time to confirm or reconfirm that the details on the ticket were correct - which they were not. This has happened before. Sky City Hotel is simply a default location which we have to put in. It's one of the 14 hotels While we accept this mistake was ours, you never reached out once in the communication through the Viator Chat system like most seasoned travellers do well in advance. If you leave contact to the departure time there is a real chance the tour has already departed If you had contacted us in advance you could have been collected directly from your cruise ship like the other travellers that went on the tour that day that communicated with us efficiently. We have a log of the communications with you after the tour had departed, but prior to that we received no telephone call, no messages - nothing. The terrible reviews are all unfortunately clients that did not get to go on tours - and so your review is a reflection of that rather than of the tour itself and I understand you are disappointed. I am personally very sad this occurred and that you missed out on an amazing experience. You received a full refund To anyone reading this I guess the moral of the story is book direct with the operator and don't go though 3rd party on-sellers where communications sometimes fail or don't happen at all. We were supposed to contact you but you could have done a lot more to contact us in the weeks leading up to the tour date. Mellissa Wiles - Tour Co-ordinator
Booked this activity several weeks in advance. We received our confirmation and tickets. We arrived early at the pickup location and messaged the operator to make sure we were in the right location. We received no response. We contacted Viator and were told the operator didn’t put our booking on his calendar! We had one day in Auckland and we were left with no tour as everything else was booked. Very disappointing and so unprofessional that the operator did not even respond. Nothing was offered to compensate for this oversight. I would give zero stars if I could.
Hi Tommi, We have already responded to your partners 1 star review. We are sorry for this error which was a complex administrative mistake that we acknowledge. Small businesses grow from learning from mistakes and evolving to ensure they are not repeated. We are sorry for the disappointment that you missed your tour. The departure time was brought forward to accommodate the departure of the cruise ship you were on and this should have been communicated to you. Kindest regards Mellissa Wiles - Tour Co-ordinator
We took the half-day Waterfalls and Wine option and while there were nice moments on the tour the majority of the outing was spent traveling in a somewhat cramped van. The pick-ups of participants began at 9-ish, not the tour itself. Then, after 50 minutes of driving there were two stops at nearly identical beaches (20 minutes each), and one 5-minute hike to an attractive waterfall. As a result there was only time to enjoy a single wine tasting. Perhaps we didn't read the fine print closely enough but we anticipated more hiking and wine tasting and less motoring. The all-day tour might have been more satisfying, as Piha IS a beautiful location and it simply takes time to get there and back.
I'm disappointed in your review which is quite at odds with other reviewers of the same tour. There is no public transport to Piha or Karekare and there are a limited number of tour companies prepared to go there because the roads are so hard on vehicles. You clearly did not read the inclusions which state you would visit black sand beaches at Piha, 2 of them, visit a pretty waterfall after a short walk in the forest at Karekare and taste wine a Soljans Vineyard. It was all in the description, but you make it sound as though if we availed more time there would be time for more wine tasting. You are a dreamer and quite naive and definitely ungrateful. Perhaps you should have booked the longer version that others on the tour paid for, which included lunch and a second winery - But you opted for the shorter and much cheaper edition, so I throw it right back at you. It is quite a drive I concede but there are amazing views and getting to these places is not easy at all. So thanks for your completely average review.
It was a great experience, largely because our guide, Jon, was so knowledgeable! This area of the country is magnificent.
Hi Theresa, Thanks for your great review. I'm so pleased you enjoyed your tour and that the inclusions met with your best expectation. Kind regards - John McFarlane
Perfect day! We just wanted a half day tour as we had a lot of things planned and this fit the mold perfectly. John was an incredible guide and was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. It was awesome to see a waterfall and piha- and the vineyard was the perfect way to end the day. Would highly recommend!
Hi Valerie, I'm so happy you enjoyed this tour - Piha is a magic place - The wine afterwards the cherry. Thanks for your great review.
We did a similar excursion with the same company a few years ago. Enjoyed then and enjoyed it again this time. We were lucky the wet weather held off while we visited Piha Beach and waterfall.
Hi Monika, Thanks for the great review and for choosing NZWINEPRO® twice. I do hope you'll follow my business @nzwinepro on Facebook or Instagram where I post things of interest that I discover on tour. All the best - John McFarlane
We had already toured the city and Waiheke island, but we hadn't seen the beaches or rain-forest of the nearby west side. I'm glad we took this tour. It gave us a chance to view more of the unspoiled beauty of New Zealand. Added plus was that this tour finished by 2pm enabling us to catch our evening flight home without needing to rush.
Hi Jay, I'm delighted you enjoyed Piha and the waterfalls. This morning tour is becoming very popular for people departing on early flights or cruise ships and still wish to have a few hours before departure. I do hope you'll follow my business @nzwinepro on Facebook or Instagram where I post things of interest I come across on tour. Kind regards - John McFarlane
What a wonderful tour! John was our guide and was so clear and communicative from the very start. His insights into New Zealand history and culture was fasinating and vast. Piha beach and the waterfall were beautiful and we stopped at several locations for breathaking photos. Boy does John know about wines! We had a great stop at a winery to taste test and learn about how wines came to be grown in NZ. Also got to sample some local manuka honey which was an added bonus! They have a full day version of this tour, with lunch but this shorter one was perfect for us as we made it back to Auckland by early afternoon to rest, shop and meet friends for dinner! In fact, John gave us a leaflet with various recommendations that did not dissappoint! We had a fabulois meal of green lipped mussels and frites at The Occidental and visted several other recommendations - all A+++! This is a must do tour!
Thanks for your fantastic view of the Piha Waterfalls & Wines Tour. I appreciate the positive feedback and I'm pleased the nzwinepro® newsletter had some things for you to do and see. This shorter tour is very popular for people leaving on an early flight or cruise but still want to see the wild west coast, nature and then taste wine. I do hope you'll follow my business @nzwinepro on Facebook or Instagram where I post things of interest I come across on tour. Best regards - John McFarlane
