Blogs from Northland, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 31

Cape Reinga. My objective, to reach the most northern tip of New Zealand. Accomplished December 18th, 2005. My present travelmate and roommated Geshe headed off Saturday morning for a weekend of fun and frolick, and stressful driving. I was very excited by my van had finally be completed to my liking and I bought all the necessary things for the trip (camp chairs, cooler, bug spray, camp table) The drive took about 4 hours to reach Cape Reinga. We stoped at a Kauri Museum and experienced the "Kauri Staircase". If you've seen the previous pictures I've posted on here of Kauri Trees, you will understand why I had to visit it, and why it was so impressive. We then headed straight up to the Cape. The last 20 kms of Highway One (why they call it ... read more

Denna morgon vaknar vi pa Kataia motor camp, i den lilla nordliga staden med hoga arbetsloshetstal, klockan 6.38 av var vackarklocka. Vi har forberett oss for var forsta "riktiga" vandring och aker med turistbuss langs ninety-mile-beach, vilken i sjalva verket ar 90 km lang. i slutet av denna blir vi avslappta och vandrar ivag i vinden. Efter nagra timmar, nar vi kommit till nasta strand langs kusten och beslutat oss for att laga lunch upptacker vi att tadstickorna ar kvar i Kaitaia. Hoppsan, det blev visst lite val torftig foda den har vandringen. Extra jobbigt eftersom man aven maste koka vattnet fran de backar man hittar. Vi beslutar oss anda for att fortsatta och hittar ytterligare en massa okanda faglar vaxter och STORA spindlar som vi inte sett forut, innan vi kommer fram till Twilight beach ... read more

i've moved on from the beach. well, we have. i met a few people at the hostel in ahipara and we decided to move on to a small 'farm hostel' in the middle of nowhere because the host makes homemade pizza. we surfed twice yesterday. i'm determined to master the short board. on my way here (though not really on my way) i drove to see where the tasman sea and the pacific meet. it was neat to be in the spot, but the view was only special because of the two bodies of water meeting there. i arrive to the hostel early so i could get out for a hike before the others arrived. today i needed to be alone. i hiked to these amazing rock pools by way of spoken directions and a hand ... read more

Next door to Paihia is Waitangi, this is the birth place of New Zealand. We went to Waitangi treaty grounds, this is where the treaty was signed between England (Busby 1840) and the Maori chiefs for protection of the island by queen Elizabeth and peace on the island. But this is also after the europeans invaded the island and caused all the upheaval in the first place. We watched a short history video, walked around the gardens and to the treaty house where it was signed. We went in the meeting house, which is like a community hall for the maori people. Inside you have to take your shoes off. It's made of wood with lots of carvings and decoration. In the afternoon, as the sun had shown itself, we relaxed on Piahia beach. 29.10.05 After ... read more

It rains during the night but has stopped by the time we get up. We take our time with breakfast and getting the camp broken down. We pack up and decide to walk around to the beach area and enjoy that for about an hour until our bus arrives to take us back. The man from Auckland stops us along the way worrying whether the bus will come down to get us since it rained last night. We don’t think there is a problem with the road, but thank him for his concern. As we are enjoying the beach views, the man from Auckland comes by to be sure we don’t need a ride to the bus. These Kiwis are the nicest people. We have a picnic and the bus arrives to take us home. Part ... read more