90 Miles of Beach - Nearly

Rather than drive up to Cape Reinga (the most northerly point in New Zealand) last night we have opted for a tour to the cape with Sand Safari.

One advantage of the tour is that we get to actually drive along 90 Mile Beach, something we are not allowed to do in our campervan, and after getting stuck in the mud the other day the last thing we want is stuck in quicksand on 90 Mile Beach…

We are one of the first couples picked up by Danny the tour guide / bus driver and as we set off he tells us about the trip the day before that got turned off the beach by big waves getting washed in by the strong winds.  This makes us think it was a good idea not to camp at the Cape last night.

After a quick stop at the slightly tacky Kauri Kingdom to pick up the others for the tour we head off down the beach.  This is actually quite fun as there are strong winds buffeting us and we power on at 90kms/hr to avoid getting stuck in the soft sand.

After some chat fromDanny about how 90 Mile Beach isn’t actually 90 miles long, a little up the beach we stop to have a look at the famous ‘hole in the rock’ which can’t be seen today due to the bank of sea spray, but we do get the chance to see just how far in some of the waves get at low tide…

Two bus loads of tourists dodging waves

From here we head off the beach and up a stream bed to the massive 200ft TePaki sand dunes.  It’s time to dig out the toboggans and boogie boards and start climbing.

TePaki Sand Dunes - MASSIVE !

Mrs M opts for a toboggan for a graceful slide down the dune, but I decide the only way is the high velocity boogie board and whizz past Mrs M at 30+mph on my second run (so fast in fact Mrs M nearly missed me off the photo completely!).

Am on a boogie board - honest

Here is an example of what it looks like on video (not ours but gives an impression of how fast you go).  Next up is a spot of lunch and then up to the cape just in time for some rain.

Mrs M at Cape Reinga - wet

Up here we see the sacred 800year old Pohutukawa tree as well as the confluence of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean (the choppy water above Mrs M’s right shoulder).

Pohutukawa tree hanging on

The run back from the cape is broken up with some more stunning beaches and the biggest ice cream we have ever had.

Back at the camp site around 5:30 and we have had a great day in far Northland.

Mr & Mrs M