Day three was the
longest. I took an all-day tour to the northernmost accessible part of NZ, Cape
Reinga, and we made some interesting stops along the way. See all photos here.
We drove a couple hours on the highway (which is what they call a winding, two-lane road) and then reached Ninety-Mile Beach. This stretch of sand extends along the northwestern coast toward the Cape, and despite its catchy name, is only 64 miles (and not even 90km). The bus drove the full length entirely on the sand, and often within reach of the waves, all the while with the driver encouraging passengers to approach the front of the bus where he would take his eyes and both hands off the wheel to snap photos for them. He assured us he’d been driving the route for 18 years, and surprisingly I never really felt in danger.
After passing the
narrowest bit of beach we stopped to take in the view, and after that made our
way to the Te Paki sand dunes. Once there, the braver passengers (including me)
trudged to the top of a dune to catch the ride down. I’ve never been one for
heights but after making such a massive climb, I was too out of breath to be
apprehensive about riding a foam board down the slope with nothing but
sunglasses and summer clothing for protection. Even though I my body was caked
with sand once I reached the bottom, the ride was so fantastic that I climbed
up and did it again!
We then headed toward
what I most looked forward to: Cape Reinga. This spot not only marks the
northern tip of the country, but also offers the incredible vantage point to
see the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean collide. The ancient Maori held this spot
sacred, because they believed it to be the place where spirits of the deceased
journeyed and then leapt into the water to make their way to paradise. I can
see why someone could take in such a location and perceive it as something
quite spiritual; it was certainly awesome for this traveler. The views really
took my breath away, and it’s one place that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
After leaving the
Cape, we briefly stopped for lunch (yet another peanut butter-Vogel sandwich
for this girl), where I discovered that two of my fellow passengers on the tour
were Americans. This young couple from Texas was celebrating their tenth
anniversary, and they had already been through the South Island a few weeks
prior. I do love traveling and meeting people from all over the world, but
there’s a certain kind of comfort that comes from hearing American accents (and
Southern ones, at that). Listening to their experience on the South Island—where
I’m headed next week—was definitely a plus as well.
The last stop before
we returned to the Bay of Islands was the Manginangina Kauri Walk. If I hadn’t
already seen a kauri forest a couple of days prior, I probably would have been
in awe of this setting, but at the time my fatigue from all the bus riding
outweighed my interest in seeing more kauri trees. The walk in Whangarei also
extended much farther than this Manginangina walk.
We finally made our
way back to Paihia, where I reflected on how much I had covered in a single day
before once again collapsing on my bed in record time.
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