Day 61 - Bottom and Top

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013

Today we headed to the top of the North Island. We were advised not to drive the famous 90 MIle Beach as it is tricky and dangerous - if our rental car gets stuck there we'd have to buy it! So we hopped the Cape Runner bus for their day trip.

The weather forecast has not been good for our last few days in New Zealand so we weren't surprised to wake up to heavy rain and winds. The trip today was great, though, and the rain stopped for a few hours while we were walking down to Cape Reinga lighthouse and then later, during our picnic lunch.

It's pretty evident in the picture below that the wind didn't cease - we were lucky not to be blown off the Cape! We were fighting the wind during our walk and had to brace ourselves, legs firmly planted and spread, while taking photos. The sea is turbulent here because it's the place where the Tasman Sea, to the west, meets the Pacific Ocean.

Here we are just 6059 nautical miles from Vancouver.

After a picnic lunch at Tapotupotu Bay, our driver drove down a non-tidal stream onto 90 Mile Beach - which isn't 90 miles at all, but 90 kilometers. It was misnamed at some point. The beach is a legal highway in New Zealand for the period 2 hours before and after low tide and the speed limit is 100 km/h. 4 wheel drive vehicles are recommended and experience and skill is required in quite a few spots. Our first stop after entering the beach was the sand dunes when our driver, Simon, hauled out a bunch of toboggans so we could climb and slide down the dunes! Everyone, old and young, who tried it had a great time. Tina and I chose not participate, as we had no desire to get sand everywhere inside our clothing - we had quite a few hours of travelling ahead of us today.

Here is Tina on a stop about mid-way down the beach. We drove 70 km of the beach today.

Our last stop of the tour was at the ancient kauri museum/store/cafe where we saw pieces of giant kauri trees that have been buried for many thousands of years. It is believed that some kind of event, such as a huge tsunami, flattened kauri forests between 40 and 50 thousand years ago. New forests eventually grew over the areas and the timber and gum harvested. These ancient, giant trees have been perfectly preserved and are now being extracted and used to make furniture and specialty items. Kauri is a beautiful wood and live forests of this native tree are now protected from logging.

The photo illustrates the size of the ancient trees. This one has had a staircase carved into it.

We returned to our car late afternoon and traced yesterday's route along highway 10 back to the Bay of Islands and Russell where Hiwi and her friend, Wiremu were waiting to hear about our day over dinner.

We have now been from the bottom (Stewart Island) to the top (Cape Reinga) of this beautiful country and I guess it's just about time to go home :(