Northland:Ninety Mile Beach and Cape Reinga

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We were up EARLY the next morning because we needed to go meet our "Sand Safari" Bus that was going to be taking us on our tour for the day. First stop after boarding the bus was at the Giant Kauri Kingdom. Kauri trees are some of the oldes in the world. They make some of the Redwood Forests look very very young. Some of the trees that they are uncovering are around 45, 000 years old. A lot of the oldest Kauri forests need to be uncovered because the are so old that they are far below the surface and need to be dug out like fossils. We went to an old gumdiggers park, where gum digging used to be a very popular industry. In the park they are in the process of uncovering old trees and learning about the history of the area. The name "Gum Boots" comes from the tall rubber boots the gum diggers sued to wear when they were extracting gum from the trees. There's a bit of useless trivia to know. 😉
Back on board our bus we headed up towards Cape Reinga via the inland route beacuse it was high tide along ninety mile beach. The drive was beautiful with some amazing views of farmland and beaches. The whole area sits on huge sand dunes, but for the most part you would never know because it was turned into forest and farmland so long ago. But there's no soil underneath, just lots of sand. The Cape is the very northern tip of the north island. And when you stand there and look out towards the never-ending blue you really do feel like you are standing on the edge of the world. The Maori believe this is where the spirits of their loved-ones come when they die and this is the point from which they leave this world and head back to their home island. We were fortunate enough that it was so clear we were able to see The Three Kings Islands in the distance. This is where the spirits are thought to stop and take one last look back before heading on their journey. The Cape is also where the Tasmen Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet. On the East side you have the Pacific, and to the west you have the Tasman. You can actually see the two different blues come and meet together in the middle and the currents meet. It's a very special and sacred place and you can't help but feel it when you're there.
After about an hour at the Cape, we headed to Tapotupotu Bay, just below the Cape to have our lunch on the beach. The beach and the bay were amazing. We didn't really have enough free time to swim, but we really wished that we did! The weather was perfect! Heading back down from the cape, we got to take the 90 Mile Beach route because the tide had gone out again. But first we stopped at the Sand Dunes for some sand boarding!!! It is so so much work hiking up the dune in the sand, but so much fun coming down. Dennis couldn't really go beacause he really didn't want to re-injure his almost healed knee!!! He tried to go from about half way, but it didn't work so well. 😉 From the dunes we drove down the stream and came out on the beach! It's not actually 90 miles, but 90 kilometres...but it was named so long ago, why change it now? And "90 Kilometre Beach" sounds pretty dumb anyways. 😉 The speed limit is 100 on the beach which is pretty sweet, and just like on the roads, you are expected to drive on the left hand side, other than that pretty much anything goes! We got back at the end of the day around 6, and we were pretty tired. No cat to be found at bedtime though!

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Photos

Uncovering Ancient Kauri Forests
Dig site in the park

Pit Stop
Beautiful beach on the way up to the Cape

Cape Reinga
The Lighthouse

Two Oceans Coming Together
Tasman Sea on the left, Pacific Ocean on the right

Comments

[The Captain]

The Terrific Trio.
Dear,Professor,Marian and Ginger,Awesome journal and fantastic ptotos.Just a pleasure to be able to follow your adventures.Not what I would call stranded on an Island by any means.Hopper just a little heads up,Should Jess return with some extra luggage by the name of Gillagan when she returns home,you best run to your cupboard and get the peanutbutter and jam,cause you will be toast! P. S . I don't want you to be shaking in your gum boots.Continue to have fun,Will keep in touch,Love Dad.Hopper it's still Mr Woods to you for know?

[The Pirates]

Home Sick
WOW. These photos are really making us homesick. Glad your having fun. Den...I came across David Zellingski - he says hi and is still playing in a band. Hasn't changed much. Whales (J-Pod) are breaching like crazy, showing off their new baby orca, very cute. Danica Jovanovic and baby are well. Louise and Draggy send their love. Missing you both and can't wait for your return. Later Gator.