The morning started at 6AM when I got up and showered and got all my stuff ready for the day. I made sure I put on sunscreen and dug out my sunglasses and such so I would be prepared. I was sporting tropical looking shorts and a coolmax shirt. I headed out into the windy overcast outdoors around 7AM to wait for the bus. I boarded the bus without issue at 7:15AM and we were on our way. Around 9:30 we hit a cafe to grab food for breakfast and lunch. I bought a 1L bottle of coke, a warm bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, a corned beef and pickle sandwich and a donut. I was set food-wise for breakfast and lunch. We hung around at the cafe for a bit and ate our food and eventually departed for the Kauri forest.
When we arrived at the Kauri forest it was raining pretty hard and against my better judgement I brought my camera out anyways in an attempt to take pictures. Unfortunately it was very challenging to get any decent photos in the forest as the lens I have with me is way too long (45mm-216mm) so you will have to make do with what I got. I was only really outside ten minutes in the forest and I still managed to get pretty wet as did my camera but it dried off quickly in the bus.
The Forest.
The Kiwi's are not big fans of destructive pests. If it doesn't belong they will kill it off.
Next on our agenda after leaving the Kauri forest we headed further north to the Te Paki sand dunes. The sand dunes are about 5Km inland and around 100m at the highest points. The reason we went to them was to go sand-boarding down them. You walk yourself up the dunes (not for the faint of heart) and at the top you position yourself on your board and then you go hurdling down the hill. The sand was really wet as a result of all the rain which made for really fast sand boarding. The driver guide said it was the best conditions he'd seen in three years doing the tour. He pegged the average speed for the people (like myself) who were really giving it at about 70-80Km/h. I came out of it with only minor injuries I bruised my knee, and took most of the skin off the top of my left big toe as well as minor amounts of skin off a few other toes. We stayed at at the dunes for about an hour and I did 7 or 8 runs down. I was the first and last person to go. I finished my last run and put my board back on the bus and hopped. Once we were all back on the bus the inside of the bus looked like a beach it was pretty crazy.
The Te Paki Sand Dunes (not my photo)
The trail we left up the dune we were riding down.
Following the dunes we headed down to this little beach for lunch. I ate my sandwich on the bus because it was pretty cold and windy outside. I did go outside and snap a few photos of the scenery and of the birds that were flocking about trying to eat peoples lunches.
The Bay.
A gull.
Another gull.
After lunch was wrapped up we piled back on the bus and headed for Cape Reinga - the most sacred land in all of New Zealand. We walked the 45 minute or so trail down the cape and around the lighthouse. The view was pretty spectacular although it wasn't super obvious where the two bodies of water met. Regardless I got some cool photos.
View from Cape Reinga
I can't imagine what idiot prompted this sign.
Cape Reinga Light House
90 Mile beach was our next stop. This is a beach that is also a public highway. The speed limit for driving on the beach is 100Km/h. As you can imagine the on and off ramps onto and off a beach are pretty crazy. We drove along the beach as the wind and rain and the spray from the water hammered the bus. It was a really cool experience.
Our tour bus parked on the beach.
A shell sitting in the sand on the beach.
The beach highway was our last stop of the day before heading back down. On the way back we stopped at this big store called "The Ancient Kauri Kingdom" where they sell stuff carved out of Kauri tree wood. Because it's all hand carved it's all ridiculously expensive so I didn't buy anything. Some of the highlights were a Mandolin that was priced at $55,000USD ($67,000CAD), a bed priced at $15,000NZD ($10,136.13CAD). Even something simple like a cutting board was $75NZD ($50.65CAD). There was lots of cool stuff to look at though. The stairway from the first to second floor was carved inside a tree. I can now say I have been inside a tree. Pretty exciting stuff.
The last stop of the day was for dinner at Mangonui Fish 'n' Chips which apparently has the best Fish 'n' Chips in all of New Zealand. It's located right on the pier and the fish they use is bought directly from the fishermen. The chips were very good but not the best I've ever had but the fish was amazing. The meal cost me $14.80NZD ($9.99CAD) for two fish and one order of chips along with two things of tomatoe sauce and two things of tartare sauce. It was a great meal and definately worth the $10CAD it cost me.
Delicious greasy fish 'n' chips!
I'll wrap this post up with a shot of the scenery we drove by and a picture of a cow that was on the wrong side of the fence and all the other cows were looking at him.
I'll wrap this post up with a shot of the scenery we drove by and a picture of a cow that was on the wrong side of the fence and all the other cows were looking at him.
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