Jon Parlby
He moved his family to Piha for the childhood he wanted them to have. Now he's one of the volunteers who keeps the place safe.
Jon arrived in Piha in 2021 with his wife, looking for a first home in a place they already loved. Four years later, they have three daughters, a renovated cottage on Garden Road, and a life built around the village and the water. We asked him five questions.
How long have you lived in Piha, and what first brought you here?
My wife and I bought our first home in Piha in 2021. We had a growing group of friends in the local area and were so excited when a house within our budget popped up. We jumped at the chance and started our next chapter on Glenesk Road. Since then, we've had three daughters, all of whom attend the local preschool. We've also just spent the last year renovating our new family home, dubbed The Blue House on Garden Road. It was a beaten-up coastal cottage from the 1940s — we fell in love with the character and have carefully restored it, while creating a healthy modern home.
What do you do for work, or how do you spend your days?
We own a campervan rental business, which my wife and I founded back in 2019. Since then, we've steadily grown it to the point where we now have a small team operating our fleet across Auckland and Christchurch. I commute into the office a couple of times a week but otherwise work from home, which has been a blessing with a young family.
Outside of work, we are surfers and lifeguards. I volunteer with the local search and rescue squad, responding to ocean-related callouts throughout the year. We spend much of our time at South Piha and the Blue Pools with the kids, building their water confidence and playing with friends.
What's something about Piha that surprises people once they actually spend time here?
Friends who come to visit are often surprised by how tight-knit we are as a community, especially among parents and children connected through the preschool. It's an awesome environment where parenting responsibilities are often shared across families as we tag-team the surf and negotiate our busy calendars.
There's also a huge variety of things to do and see, places to hang out with mates, and spaces to find solace and reflection.
What's your favourite thing to do in Piha?
My favourite thing to do is take the kids up into the bush barefoot. We explore, make up stories, and adventure through streams, swim holes, and ancient trees. It's a truly magical place, and it's awesome to see the kids' young minds fizzing with imagination and curiosity about the natural surroundings.
We're also lucky enough to hear the waves breaking from our garden. The sound echoes around the cliffs and makes its way up the valley, so we love to sit and listen while drinking our morning coffee.
What do you love most about living here?
What I love most about Piha is our community. Everybody plays a role — whether that's volunteering across the emergency services, working on conservation projects, or coaching our local soccer team, the Piha Sharkies. Everyone mucks in and helps each other out. It's really unique to be part of something that works so well.
