One of our last major “New Zealand adventures” – aside from doing some exploring in Auckland – was the drive from our B&B in Kaitaia up to the northernmost point in the North Island at Cape Reinga. (The picture above was taken at the Cape and shows the whitecaps where the Tasman Sea (left/west) meets the Pacific Ocean (right/east). There were a host of tourists that made the trip to the Cape Reinga Lighthouse; one of them was kind enough to snap a photo of the both of us.
In Maori tradition Cape Reinga is a very sacred place, especially with the belief that after death the souls of the departed come to the cape and slide down the roots of the tree (barely visible in the picture of the rocky outcropping) as the first step in the journey to their ancestral homeland. When we first arrived at the Cape in late morning it was cloudy and overcast. However, after driving to an east coast beach just a few miles away, the sun came out in all its splendor so we returned to the Cape for more pictures!
Driving back toward our B&B we took a short drive off the main highway to reach the giant sand dunes where we saw lots of kids sliding down steep slopes in rented toboggans. The place where we parked our car next to the dunes is the north terminus of the drive on the “90 Mile Beach” (actually about 90 km.) which is taken by a bunch of tour busses and many individuals with suitable vehicles. (Rental cars like ours are prohibited on the beach.) Our other stop (Ron pictured) was at Rarawa Beach, famous for its silica white sand.
We were there nearly at low tide and saw quite a number of cars that had driven down on the beach on the sand that had been packed solid by the receding tide. All in all, we were glad we included “the Far North” in our itinerary. - rw
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