VISIT TO CAPE REINGA AND 90 MILE BEACH -NEW ZEALAND JOURNEY

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The scenic hotel in Bay of islands where we had put up had lush sub-tropical gardens and excellent guest facilities, we specially liked the welcoming atmosphere of this resort-style hotel.

 The rooms were arranged in a spacious manner with adequate privacy ,we thought it made the perfect base from which to explore the beautiful and historic Bay of Islands

Bay of Islands is a three hour drive from Auckland, it encompasses 144 islands of which the largest is Urupukapuka  between Cape Brett and the Purerua Peninsula and includes  boutique towns of Opua, Paihia, Russell  and Kerikeri which is the largest .  

The bay is irregularly-shaped and 16 km-wide, has a 260 km drowned valley system and a natural harbour ,it is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its big-game fishing

There are excellent trips by tour operators by sea or air. A passenger ferry service runs between Paihia and Russell, while a vehicle ferry provides a link between Opua and Russell. On land, beautiful river and seaside walking tracks have been created

With help of Tony, all of us went to the tour operators and booked a trip to Cape Reinga, 90 mile beach and the sand dunes, Next day morning we woke up fresh, had a hearty breakfast and started for Cape Reinga  which is about 210 km by road to the north-west.

As we travelled north, we were in for the stupendous joy of tasting New Zealand's varying and beautiful landscape, the rolling hills of Northland's rural countryside with windy roads, breath-taking coastal views and native forest. I was specially entranced by the blue skies, the bluest sky I have ever seen in my entire life

 It is said that a visit to New Zealand is not complete without a journey to the very top of the North Island which is Cape Reinga known for its wild beauty and is an untouched region rich in Māori culture and tradition.

Cape Reinga is the north westernmost tip of the Aupouri Peninsula at the northern end of North Island of New Zealand. State Highway 1 extends all the way to the cape, but until 2010 there was an unsealed gravel road for the last 19 km.

The cape is often mistakenly thought of as being the northernmost point of the North Island, and thus, of mainland New Zealand. However, North Cape’s Surville Cliffs, 30 km east of Cape Reinga and Cape Maria Van Diemenare are slightly further north.

 Cape Reinga is  said to be on the tentative list of UNESCO waiting to receive World Heritage Site status

 The 'Te Rerenga Wairua' component of the name in Māori language means the  leaping-off place of spirits. The 'Reinga' part of the name is the Māori language word meaning the underworld. Both refer to the Māori belief that the cape is the point where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld.

 According to mythology, the spirits of the dead travel to Cape Reinga on their journey to the afterlife to leap off the headland ,climb the roots of the 800-year-old pohutukawa tree and descend to the underworld to return to their traditional homeland of Hawaiki, using the  'Spirits' pathway'

Having heard so much about the cape from Megan and Tony ,we were all very excited to get down from the bus at Cape Reinga and we started climbing down the trail ,we could hardly believe our eyes at the sight stretching before us

We could see the seas with the crashing waves creating a white froth. We could see people scramble down to the picturesque bays/beaches down below. Swimming is however dangerous due to rips and erratic currents.

 As I stood there on that hill looking at the two oceans, Tasman Sea  with its turquoise waters dashed fiercely against the Pacific Ocean’s darker blue waves, it was spectacular and exciting , looking at a sea always makes me feel very tiny and humble and here there was a double dhamaka !

We were literally buffeted by strong winds and had to keep our caps firmly on our heads ,I could see parents desperately catching their young children so that they wouldn’t fly away

There were a lot of sign boards as we went down pointing out the various view points and though the path was quite steep we could see few benches laid for resting

Finally we reached the area where the light house was situated

 The light house at Cape Reinga was built in 1941 and first lit during May 1914, replacing a lighthouse located nearby which had been built  in 1879. In 1987, the lighthouse was fully automated and the lighthouse keepers were withdrawn. 
The previous 1000 watt light has since been replaced with a 50 watt flashing beacon

Originally, Motuopao Island was chosen as the site best suited for the location of a lighthouse to protect ships passing through the dangerous, turbulent waters at the northern tip of New Zealand.

However, by the beginning of World War II, it was decided that the light was in the wrong location, so in 1941 the glasshouse and light mechanism on top of the lighthouse were removed and re-erected at the new lighthouse settlement at Te Rerenga Wairua

 Standing at an impressive 10m in height and 165m above sea level, it is one of New Zealand’s iconic landmarks.

The Cape Reinga light  is electric, with the last lighthouse keeper being withdrawn in 1987. It is now managed remotely by computer from Wellington.

The 1000-watt light bulb magnified by the lens system throws a signal of warning 49 km out to sea and is often the first light in New Zealand that sailors see.

As we were all excitedly taking snaps around it , I felt that the light house was observing us amusedly .

 From the lighthouse it is possible to watch the tidal race, as the two seas dash to create unsettled waters just off the coast,

Getting down the track was much easier than going up,panting slightly we took a sip of cool water ,found a clean toilet to our surprise

The trip to Cape Reinga left us with a fascinating spiritual feeling as we Indians also believe in mythology,I could literally feel spirits departing all around us creating those  buffeting strong winds on their way

Hearts full of spiritual thoughts we left for the sand dunes, Te Paki is basically a 10km long by 1km wide coastal strip of 150m high sand dunes

The sand dunes were to be approached through the Te Paki Stream which can be dangerous at times because of the treacherous driving conditions caused by the inter-action of the sand and water.

Drivers have to enter the stream at own risk ,as  the sand is quick sand and olden days horses were lost here , if buses stop in the middle of the quick sand, they'll sink into the sand up to axles in no time at all ,so drivers are instructed to engage low gear to avoid stalling, should not stop in the stream or speed, and to drive mainly in the centre of the stream bed.

We were told that wet weather and seasonal conditions could cause a rapid deterioration in the stream and beach conditions,however we were very lucky that day to go through fantastic weather and after gingerly driving through wet land and sand,

the bus stopped at the sand dunes, all around us we could see enormous sand dunes which are supposed to be the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and the climb to the top was quite tough as we were slipping in the sand and we also had to take with us sand boards on which we could slide down

Some of our friends managed to slide down the dunes and few enthusiastic people even went sailing into the stream beyond getting themselves thoroughly wet

Our next stop was the 90 mile beach which was a misnomer as the beach is actually 55 miles but in the olden days they measured the distance that a horse could travel in a day which was thirty miles and as it took a horse 3 days to make the journey it was called 90 mile beach - but they forgot that the horses were travelling much slower on the soft sand but even so the name has stuck!
In the days of sailing ships a number of vessels were wrecked on this beach, it needs a lot of dexterity to drive a vehicle in this beach, it was a thrilling experience to race along the beach in a bus with the sea on one side and the waves playfully threatening to gobble us up

In 1932 the beach was used as the runway for some of the earliest airmail services between Australia and New Zealand. It is officially a public highway and sometimes used as an alternative road to State Highway 1

After some time the bus stopped and we clambered off and sank our feet into the warm sand of the Tasman sea ,it is said that surf Patrol guys sometimes do 3-5 rescues a day pulling out cars, motorbikes, rescuing people form crashed vehicles as well as rescues from other water sport activities.

Our final stop was a shop - Ancient Kauri Kingdom (shop selling kauri gum products) where we could see an ancient stair way made of massive kauri logs and stumps extracted from local swamp land , leading up to some more interesting gum products