The Far North

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A steady wind blows wisps of mist across the hillside and plays hide-and-seek with the lighthouse at Cape Reinga on the tip of the north island. Grey and gloomy, it is easy to see why the Maori named this Reinga, meaning underworld. The continuous sigh of the surf, where Tasman Sea meets Pacific Ocean, could easily conceal the snuffling sounds of the spirits of the dead as they descend the root-steps of the ancient Kahika tree to the water and make their final journey to their distand homeland, Hawaiki.

The lighthouse first warned sailors of the rocky shores in 1941 and was fully automated in 1987. Situated 18,029 km from London and over 11,000 km from Vancouver, its light can be seen for 35 km and is one of the first lights seen by ships arriving from the Tasman Sea and Northern Pacific Ocean.

The Tasman Sea grooms the sand along the western side of the peninsula to form the longest beach in New Zealand, called The Ninety Mile Beach, although we are told it is only 60 miles long.

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Photos

Cape Reinga lighthouse
Shrouded in the mist created by the mixing of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean

Spiritual Kahika Tree
Where the spirts return to their homeland stepping down the roots

90 mile beach
Only 60 miles long