to the north, and away

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the highlight of no one's trip to new zealand

maria and i toss around the idea of whisking ourselves away on some fabulously expensive but exciting tour of new zealand. still trying to figure where we'll be comfortable and happy for the next two weeks. in the end, we decide while we're already north, to head ALL the way up north to cape reinga and the 90 mile beach.

first, stop, kaitaia, where you almost must stop before heading all the way up north. the lonely planet says kaitaia is the highlight of no one's trip to new zealand; that very well might be true. it's a small strip town feeling of a town with lots of tourist tour companies and not much else. we walk the very long strip down to our hostel where we park ourselves for the night.

the next morning, we set out nice and early with a tour companies that whisks you all the way up to the tippy top point, drives you along the beach, and even gives you lunch. we love seemingly free lunch.

you do actually drive along the beach, on the sand, just like it's a real highway. and, there is even some water-driving depending what the tides are like.

highlight: sand tobagganing on the white, sandy dunes. although, it was more the ridiculously hard, heart-attack inducing climb up the steep wall of sand that was the highlight rather than the actualy slide down itself. my slide down was rather staccato, slow, and uneventful.

the cape was lovely, where the pacific ocean and tasman seas come together. lots of water view, a few hills. and a ton of photos that don't do any of it justice.

we spend a second night in the kaitaia hostel that is in turns, both joyful and sad. maria makes the decision to go home; i called about 20 farms before finding a family that will take me in. by the end of it, i'm very eager to go to my next farm, located right on lake tarawera. funky feijoa (the farm) and its owner (liz) vow that if we get along well, they will drop me off at a friend's farm in the coromandel a few days later as they will be soon be on holiday in fiji. it seems like maybe things will work out okay.

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