New Zealand, Day #11 - Kaitaia, 90 Mile Beach, and Cape Reinga


Wednesday, February 28, 2018:
We got up early and started the drive to the northern part of North Island (or Northland). Kaitaia is a 4hr15min drive from Auckland but we take longer with all the stops for snacks and pictures. We were headed to a cute little B&B to stay for the night so once we checked in and got settled into the room, we grabbed a bite to eat at Mussel Rock Cafe and headed to 90 Mile Beach before going to Cape Reinga.

Tarun and Nisha figuring out where we were going to eat and what our plan was for the remainder of the day.

As the name indicates, this beach is long but it's actually 88 kilometers and stretches from Ahipara to Scott Point. It is located on the North-western coast of Northland. We saw more vehicles driving on the beach than people but it's not recommended to drive on it unless you have 4 wheel drive and/or you're positive your vehicle can get out. It's not uncommon for people to lose their vehicles on this beach when high tide comes in!




Kelsey the selfie stick or selfie-Schick, if you will.




He doesn't look like he's struggling at all... time to put down the chocolate Kelsey!

After 90 mile beach we stopped at the Te Paki sand dunes which are a bit before you reach Cape Reinga. I've seen sand pits before but these were massive. We only went up one and were exhausted lol. Let's pretend it was still because of Roys Peak... almost a week later... 



Tarun of course had to try boogie boarding there.



More sheep.

Cape Reinga is something special. According to Maori oral history, the spirits of deceased Maori leap from a mangled pohutukawa tree, believed to be 800 years old, into the ocean to return to their ancestral homeland of Hawaiki. 

Standing on the peak, looking out onto the vast ocean makes you feel pretty small on this planet. All you can see is the ocean and it's such a peaceful feeling.

There was a storm rolling in that night so as the pictures progress you'll notice it gets pretty dark and gloomy. You'll also notice how freakin' windy it was! I had to take my hat off because the wind was trying to steal it.












*sigh*



















And then the clouds came rolling in...

It's hard to pick a favorite place in New Zealand but I think Cape Reinga may have been my favorite. I just wish we could have seen the actual sunset lol. We headed back to the B&B for some downtime before bed so we could be up early to hit the road to Paihia.

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