New Zealand Part 2 : June 25 - July 14
Kaitaia: Tuesday, July 11, 2006
This morning had to be an early start. We were heading to the far North and Cape Reinga, the northern tip of New Zealand. It was a couple hundred kilometers to the end, and we opted to head directly there. Hopefully we could avoid some of the many tour buses that make the trip daily. We seemed to have been lucky with the plan.
Some 25 km before the end, we left sealed highway and hit dirt road. There is a small country store at this point, but not much more. You can rent boogie boards for surfing the sand dunes for $10/ 4 hours which is the best and only deal in town. We figured we would rent them on the way back through.
We arrived at the Cape Reinga parking lot and immediately saw the large sign that indicated out of respect to Maori beliefs that there was to be no consumption of food or beverage in the park. Looking north from the cape is a large lighthouse which can be seen over 45 km out at sea. This part of the ocean is where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean and the area is full of brutal currents and rips. The water all around was very turbulent and volatile. Reinga means “underworld” in Maori and it is from here that the Maori believe spirits of the dead leave for their return journey to the land of their ancestors, Hawaiki. A common misconception is that Cape Reinga is the northernmost point of New Zealand but North Cape on the eastern shore is actually a smidge farther north. However it is not easily accessible by car and most people visit Cape Reinga instead.
From the parking lot at Cape Reinga, we started on a very steep hike that was to take us down to the beach. Unfortunately after about 20 minutes down, the footing became way too treacherous to continue. The recent rains had turned the steep path into a 2 km long mud slick. Footing was impossible and it was only a matter of time before one of us became covered or worse slid over the side of the cliff face. Retracing our steps made all of us more comfortable.
As we got back up to the car, the first bus began to appear. We had the lead on the hordes but only just! Having finished our visit to the northern parts, we began our drive back down the long peninsula. Our plan was to do several stops along the way and the first one was the small store some 25 km back. We wanted to try the sport of Sand Surfing and we had to go here to rent the boards. As we pulled up to the store we spotted three parked buses. Inside the shop we were faced with a line of over 40 young boys (obviously here as part of a day camp). They all seemed to be purchasing a chocolate bar and a drink… one at a time. There was no way we could wait in this line so we took a pass on the boogie board and got back in the car.
We headed out to the park’s famous giant sand dunes; reportedly some of the largest in the world. They certainly lived up to their billing. These things were huge! Bigger and way steeper than anything we had seen on the trip. The type of sand and the way in which it was deposited, made the cliffs very, very steep and fabulous for sliding. When we got there, there were about 5 other families all outfitted with boogie boards. They would take 7-10 minutes to climb a dune, hop on and go for the rides of their lives. There were lots of crash and tumbles (and swallowing of sand).
Leaving Sierra to dig some of her now famous holes and Deb to take some pictures, Brian and Brennan began to climb the largest dunes. It took quite a while but 30 minutes later they topped the tallest ridge. The shape and the size of the dunes was mind blowing. Some dunes can reach heights of 143m or 470ft. The view from the top was amazing as well. Walking back along the top of the dune, they found Deb having befriended some of the local boarders. It turns out they were from Creston, BC, and their 14 year old son had hauled one of the spare boards up to the top of the hill for Brennan to try. Brennan’s first run was terrific and he made it down to the bottom without crashing! The pitch was incredibly steep and by the time he hit the bottom of the slope he was really motoring. The two boys headed up for another run, while Brian and Deb enjoyed spending some moments chatting up their new “neighbours from back home”. Brennan’s second run was not quite as smooth as the first. Having hit top speed near the bottom of the slope he “caught an edge” and went into a wild spin. He ended up flat on his back at the bottom of the hill. Shaken, not stirred!
Leaving the dunes behind us, we headed back to the car and a bite of lunch. Our next stop was several kilometers back down the road and the buried kauri forest. Some 45,000 years ago, the peninsula was covered with giant kauri trees. A huge cataclysmic event occurred (likely tidal wave) that knocked down the entire forest like dominos. They were covered with silt and preserved underground. These days, the buried trees are mined for their wood (for carving) and for their gum or resin. Existing living kauri trees are protected under New Zealand law and can not be harvested. Today the resin is used largely for jewelry. A hundred years ago gum mining was a huge industry with the resin used as furniture varnish and chewing gum. The workers had to endure hip deep mud and were forced to wear large “Wellington Boots” in order to stay dry. These large rubber boots are now better known as gum boots!
Our last stop was the southern end of the famous 90 mile beach. This famous beach stretches from the base of the peninsula all the way up to the dune field at its northern end. In reality it is not 90 miles long but 96 kilometers or 60 miles long. Four wheel drive vehicles and specially equipped tour buses drive up the beach from end to end. You have to time it right however or else you will be stuck with high tide. More than a few cars and tourists have gotten stranded as there is only one midway emergency exit.
It was getting late in the day as we pulled into our accommodations for the evening at the Loredo Hotel in Kaitaia, a small town at the base of the peninsula. The evening was spent getting things ready for updating the website in a couple of days. Hopefully we can find an internet connection somewhere before we get to Hawaii.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006: Dargaville, New Zealand
We had a shorter drive in front of us today so we could afford a bit of a sleep in. The plan for the day was a leisurely drive down the coast, checking out some of the local hikes and famous kauri trees. The weather was mixed and we had periods of rain on and off. While we got wet, we also got treated to some spectacular rainbows. Since we have been in New Zealand we have gotten to see dozens of rainbows. For whatever reason they are more fully formed and more vivid than anywhere else we have been.
As we worked our way down the coast we spotted a sign indicating a car ferry that could take us across one of the long bays we were presently making our way around. After consulting the map, we figured that a 15 km drive and a 15 minute ferry ride were better than a 100 km drive and we headed for the ferry. Unfortunately we missed the sailing and had to wait 30 minutes for it to come back and pick us up. While it may not have been any faster, it was certainly a more pleasant way to get from point A to point B.
We stopped for lunch at a small takeaway. We are always amazed at the quality and quantity of food we have been getting from these small roadside restaurants. We got large fish and chips, chicken and chips, and a huge cheeseburger for $12 NZD or $7 USD. There was no way we could finish it all!
Totally stuffed now, we headed out to the Waipoua National Park, home to a huge stand of kauri trees. We did several short and medium length walks here to see several of the larger trees. The largest and oldest (1500+ years old) was nicknamed the Lord of the Forest. It was a monstrous sized tree. The others, “Father of the Forest” and the “Four Sisters” were only slightly smaller. These were all awe inspiring trees. Our last stop of the day was the park’s visitor center. Despite its small size, this exhibit was very informative about the logging history of the region and the unique relationship between the kauri trees and the Maori residents.
Home for the night was only 60 km further down the road in the small town of Dargarville. We had a small kitchen again and decided that since it would be our last one in New Zealand, we needed to treat the kids to a home dinner of their choice. Burritos it was! More work on the web site rounded off this somewhat busy day! Tomorrow we head back to Auckland and the Hyatt Hotel.
Thursday, July 13, 2006: Auckland, New Zealand
It’s Debbie here. It’s midnight and I have a case of insomnia. So I thought I’d take over from Brian and get something done while everyone is sleeping.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got up this morning because it had been pouring all night long. I was afraid of more flooding on the roads and a tough day of driving to Auckland. Just after leaving Dargaville, we had to take a detour because of an accident. This sent us on a minor country road, partially under repair, with dozens of large trucks that were also rerouted. It wasn’t a great start but that was the only hiccup in our travels today. Also thankfully the excess water was absorbed and we didn’t have any flooding problems on our relatively short drive to the city. In reality, nothing in New Zealand is very far away. We had some long days on this trip because we chose to cover a lot of ground.
Our only planned stop for the day was the Kauri Museum in the small town of Matakohe. This was our last visit to anything “kauri”. The kids had definitely seen enough big trees. However, I had read good things about this large museum and wanted to see it. I am glad we stopped for a number of reasons. First of all, the museum is great. It had interactive displays showing machinery used in farming, wood harvesting, saw milling and more from the pioneering days. With a push of one button, it was possible to milk a very noisy dairy cow. There were hundreds of photographs taken at the turn of the 20 th century of lumberjacks, oxen, etc, displays of antique kauri furniture and carvings. It was very interesting to see how big the original kauri trees were and how small the oxen teams pulling the logs were in comparison. Sierra really liked the rooms designed to look like different parts of a wealthy home. One of the rooms had an antique carriage clock that looked like ours. She also liked that the mannequins in the displays were made to look like existing ancestors of the area’s original settlers. Brennan’s favourite room was the kauri gum room which must have housed 10,000 pieces of kauri resin at least. Kauri resin or gum ranged from clear to black in colour depending on whether the tree has been exposed to coal, forest fires, insects etc. It was incredibly light in weight which is surprising because it looks liked rock.
Another fabulous part of the museum was the gift shop. The selection of items was superb and the prices were the best of any we have seen in New Zealand. I wish that I had done all my shopping here because I would have saved some money. Brian finally found a Maori carved war club after searching all over the country for the perfect one. He was very pleased with his purchase. So I highly recommend a stop at the museum, even if it is just to shop!
From here we headed south to Auckland in the drizzle. However the skies cleared as we entered the city and we enjoyed some sunshine for the rest of the afternoon. It was a nice end to the drive.
Tomorrow we have another full day in Auckland for some more sightseeing and one last purchase. I saw a blanket in Skytower on our first day and still want it. So Brian is resigned to the fact that we have to buy one more thing. At least it isn’t a rug! As well Sierra and I are going out to the Howick Historical Village in one of Auckland’s suburbs. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for good weather.
Brian wants to get the website up in the morning; so this will be our last entry for New Zealand. It has been a wonderful experience visiting Aotearoa or Land of the Long White Cloud. Haere Ra or Good Bye from Kiwi-land. ( NEXT PAGE )