Cape Reinga

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March 11th 2011

Published: March 11th 2011

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afrey

Kauri Forest

Road Trip! Specifically, a day-long bus trip that would take me from Pahia, up to the far tip of the north island (Cape Reinga), then back along Ninety Mile beach (with some stops along the way). It was a full bus, and I was probably one of the older occupants, but that really wasn't a big deal.

Aside from a couple of stops for food/bathrooms on the way up, we stopped at a forest reserve to take a short walk amongst the kaori. Kaori are native New Zealand trees. Very big trees with branches only at the very top (you may recognize them as the trees in the forest of Lothlorien from the Lord of the Rings). We only had about fifteen or twenty minutes there (I don't think I really needed much more than that) and then it was back on the bus. A second brief stop was made to view some distant silica beaches (they appeared white in the distance) and then it was back on the bus for the last hall up to Cape Reinga.

As we approached Cape Reinga, our bus driver/guide (a Maori) told us the importance of the area to the Maori. I

Kauri Forest

won't go into the details (as I would likely get some of them wrong), but the basic belief is that after death, the spirit/soul travels from the place of burial up to Cape Reinga and at the northernmost tip, and leaps into the ocean for the final journey back to the lands of their ancestors. The views at Cape Reinga were stunning. I don't know really what else to say. Just stunning.

Again, we didn't stay long (maybe forty-fve minutes), before boarding the bus and heading down to a beach for lunch (again, stunningly beautiful). After lunch, we headed to the next attraction - the sand dunes and some sledding. A little excitement first, however, when our bus got stuck and head to be pulled out of the wet sand by another bus 😊 After that interlude, we grabbed short boards and headed up the dunes. These dunes are big. I believe the guide books say they reach up to about one hundred feet. I don't know. I do know that hiking up to the top was a painful experience, but the ride down on the board was fantastic - a fast! I only had time for one ride

Cape Reinga

and then it was back in the bus and a short drive to Ninety Mile Beach for a quick swim to get rid of all the sand. The beach is not really suitable or safe for swimming and we just let the waves crash over us. Then it was back on the bus for the ride down the beach (at low tide, the road is the beach). Driving down the beach is fun, but to be honest, after the first couple of miles, it's pretty much all the same.

Back on the main road, we stopped off at "The Ancient Kaori Kingdom" (a workshop/store where they make furniture and carvings from kaori) and then another stop for fish and chips. They billed the fish and chips as being really good, but in my opinion, they were fairly standard and in retrospect, I would have eaten after getting back to Pahia.

A great day, even though most of it was spent driving instead of doing things. If you're travelling in the area and don't have access to a car, then the bus trip is worth it. If you have a car, try staying overnight someplace closer to Cape Reinga