After a few days exploring the town of Kerikeri, we took a major road trip to the top of the North Island. Cape Reinga is known as "the top of the bottom of the world!" We could've driven ourselves, but were recommended to take a bus tour from Kaitaia (about an hour-and-a-half drive from Kerikeri) - turned out to be a great suggestion.
We stopped at a few points along the 105 km route and had lunch and time for a quick swim (seriously, really quick - like 5 minutes). Judy volunteered to take pictures at our stop in Tapotupotu Bay and the girls and I were surprised that the water was so warm. We had a blast jumping through the breakers, then hustling up the beach to shower, dry off & change before the bus left! The bay was only 3 km from the Cape, and we were anxious to see this remarkable place.
Cape Reinga, the most northerly point on the mainland of NZ, is where the Tasman Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west meet. We had previously thought that it would look like many of the wonderful seascapes that we had seen in our travels through this beautiful country. We were greatly mistaken. The "joining point" is clearly visible, and I'm sure the photos don't do it justice - turquoise to the west and deep blue to the west.
This place is not only spectacularly beautiful but also sacred to the Māori, who believe that all souls leave from this point on their journey back to their spiritual home of Hawaiiki.
It was (too!) soon after that we started our trip back to Kaitaia, but this time we drove back along the famous Ninety Mile Beach. It was flat and straight and the driver was able to hit 90 kph. Highlights of the return trip were sandboarding down the giant dunes (check out the girls' pages) and stopping to dig out tuatua, a small mollusc found beneath the sand when the tide goes out. Check out the video below the photos.
We stopped at a few points along the 105 km route and had lunch and time for a quick swim (seriously, really quick - like 5 minutes). Judy volunteered to take pictures at our stop in Tapotupotu Bay and the girls and I were surprised that the water was so warm. We had a blast jumping through the breakers, then hustling up the beach to shower, dry off & change before the bus left! The bay was only 3 km from the Cape, and we were anxious to see this remarkable place.
Cape Reinga, the most northerly point on the mainland of NZ, is where the Tasman Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west meet. We had previously thought that it would look like many of the wonderful seascapes that we had seen in our travels through this beautiful country. We were greatly mistaken. The "joining point" is clearly visible, and I'm sure the photos don't do it justice - turquoise to the west and deep blue to the west.
This place is not only spectacularly beautiful but also sacred to the Māori, who believe that all souls leave from this point on their journey back to their spiritual home of Hawaiiki.
It was (too!) soon after that we started our trip back to Kaitaia, but this time we drove back along the famous Ninety Mile Beach. It was flat and straight and the driver was able to hit 90 kph. Highlights of the return trip were sandboarding down the giant dunes (check out the girls' pages) and stopping to dig out tuatua, a small mollusc found beneath the sand when the tide goes out. Check out the video below the photos.