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Published: January 21st 2006
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Tip top North Island
Sand boarding is super cool
Wind blown look is not.
We had a super early wake up call since we had to be up and ready by 7:15 to catch our tour bus that would take us all the way up to Cape Reinga. Or in other words the tip of the North Island.
Trying to be up and ready by 7:15 when there are eight other people in the room and only one bathroom was quite a challenge. Luckily there was a kitchenette in our room as well that was equipped with a sink, so that helped.
There was a bit of a panic when I went to bed since I misplaced my watch. Oh no. The alarm is going to go off and wake up the entire room. DOH! Luckily after about 10 minutes of searching I found my watch sitting underneath my bed. Phew! Now I don't have to worry about seven people giving me dirty looks. haha
Our tour was with the 4x4 Dunerider Company. Our driver guide Paul was super talkative. I swear he was talking 95% of the time we were on the bus. Mind you it
The dunes
Te Paki where we indulged in a bit of sand boarding. Totally wicked experience! was all quite informative so it was okay. It sure did help to pass the time. One of my favourite lines from him came near the end of the tour when he made mention that he forgot to tell us something. Then right after saying that said that he forgot to tell us a lot of things. Geesh, what other information could this guy have shared with us?!?
Our first stop was a short walk around a forested area to see some Kauri trees. Then after a bit of driving we took a trip to the dunes to do some sand boarding at Te Paki. So much fun! Basically it reminded me of snow tubing but instead of snow there was sand. It sure was a lot of work walking up the sand dunes though. I would have made more than one run if it hadn't been for the hard climb up the dunes. I was so out of breath I didn't think I was gonna make it to the top! It also didn't help that it was super windy up there too. But it was totally worth the hard trek up even though the entire ride lasted no
Cape Reinga
This is me up at Cape Reinga. Just realized that the bit of water beside me is just the Pacific. The area where the Tasman and the Pacific meet is actually out of view of the picture to the left... longer than 30 seconds. What an adrenaline rush! Totally wicked...as the 12 year old that went before me stated.
Then it was off to Cape Reinga to see where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet. It was simply amazing up there. (Please excuse me now if I start using the word amazing a little too much in my descriptions. It's just that sometimes words cannot describe some of the things I'm seeing.) Being at the lighthouse and just looking out at the water just made you think that this is some of Mother Natures finest work. I wish we could have spent more time up there but we had a schedule to keep.
So next on the agenda was a trip to a nearby beach where we enjoyed some lunch. The waves were really roaring and the reflection off the water on the sand of the clouds was cool. My camera couldn't really pick it up since it was a bit windy and ripples in the water ruined the mirror effect. Oh well. After lunch we spent driving on 90 mile beach. Which by the way is only 64 miles! Paul took us off the beach
This is where two bodies of water meet.
Tasman Sea on the left. Pacific Ocean on the right. for a bit to see if we could catch a glimpse of some more wild horses. We were not successful. So we headed back towards the beach. Well, not before getting stuck in the sand! We hear Paul say, "Hmm, not gonna go that way because the sand is a bit soft. Let's go this way..." Doh! Stuck! Everybody off! We weren't stuck for too long luckily. We all made jokes that our wish to stay up North longer could be granted if we have to camp overnight!
For dinner we had fish and chips. Yum! I haven't had fish and chips for ages so it tasted especially yummy! What a grease feast!
Our last stop on tour before heading back to our hostel about 1.5 hours late was at a local fruit stand. It really hit the spot after eating such a greasy dinner. I tried a couple of new (to me) fruit. Faejoas and ugly fruit. Faejoas are super yummy and super sweet. As for ugly fruit, I didn't really care for them too much.
Upon getting back to the hostel there was once again a line up for the bathrooms. But the wait was
well worth it because I felt like a new person after scrubbing off a few layers. LOL. We were all gonna head out for a drink or something once everybody was ready but I couldn't take all the German speak and put on my music. Mistake because before I knew it I was asleep! Oh well. At least I had a really good night's sleep!
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anonymous
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Jealous!
Hi Bon Bon... Aquaman has let me peek in here and I just wanted to tell you how happy I am for you to have such an incredible travel experience. I am a little Pisces Earth Monkey who would love to travel more but is busy with family at present--- an adventure itself! My experience has been that the Kiwis are wonderful... I hope I am fortunate enough to visit one day! I know you are having a wonderful time and I wish many blessings for you on your way. :-) - Isla