Cape Reinga - the gateway to the underworld

Our journey took us from Paihia to the (almost) northernmost point of New Zealand. We opted for a day trip that had it all. I'm not really a fan of getting up early, so I looked the part when the alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. But sometimes you just have to make sacrifices. The bus arrived more or less (more like less) on time. Originally, I wanted to catch up on some sleep during the ride, but this thought quickly disappeared with the breathtaking scenery. Along the northern west coast, there were mountains full of coniferous, deciduous, and palm forests, and the small islands in the ocean decorated the horizon.

Suddenly, it was time to hold on tight, as the bus driver drove the coach (!!!) directly onto Ninety Mile Beach. As for me, I have only ever walked on the beach, never driven on it. But it seems to be more or less common here. Other vehicles even drove their dogs for a walk, which means the dogs actually had to walk while the owner drove themselves for a walk. You can do that. In addition to a good quarter of an hour of driving on the beach, we also had a few minutes to explore Ninety Mile Beach on foot. Fun fact: The beach is not 90 miles long, but more like 55 to 60 miles, which is about 90 kilometers. Someone really messed up here. But to be honest, I wouldn't have noticed it as a passenger or pedestrian because no matter which direction I looked, the beach seemed endlessly long. Feeling the golden sand under my feet, I once again admired the power of the water crashing onto the shore. Although it was relatively calm, one wave surpassed the next. However, I didn't have time to wash my head today, even though I really needed it after all the lack of sleep. ;)
From the endless beach, we finally made our way to today's main destination: Cape Reinga, where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet. Many mistakenly refer to this point as the North Cape of New Zealand. In principle, that's not sooo wrong, because it is actually the northernmost point that can be reached by vehicle. However, geographically speaking, Cape Reinga is northwest, and there it is actually the outer point. For the Maori, Cape Reinga has a very spiritual significance. According to their stories, the souls of the deceased depart from Ninety Mile Beach on their way to Cape Reinga, as it is believed that the gateway to the underworld is located there. They have definitely chosen a very beautiful place for something rather eerie, you have to give them that. With this in mind, the area had an even more powerful impression on me. It had something magical, impressive, and yes, somewhat eerie. The lonely lighthouse stood in the shade of itself (because the sun unfortunately didn't shine) and the chains of islands lined up majestically. Every step I took was filled with great respect, and I almost felt bad taking pictures. I'm sorry, underworld, I just couldn't resist. It was simply too beautiful there. Unfortunately, we only had about an hour - definitely too little time! But the next destination of our day trip was too tempting to miss the bus.
We continued to the Te Paki Sand Dunes. I had never seen sand dunes "live" as far as I can remember, and these ones were also huge. It almost felt like standing in the middle of an endless desert, if it wasn't for the small rivers running alongside the dunes on the left and right. The thought of standing on a huge sand hill was strange. But as if that wasn't enough, our bus driver took out small surfboards from the luggage compartment. And yes, honestly, I had been looking forward to this moment all day: sandboarding. With our boards under our arms, we climbed a 40 to 50 meter high sand dune. At first, I suspected that we would stop halfway, but the driver actually took us all the way to the top. And suddenly, the thought of sandboarding didn't seem sooo enticing anymore at this steep abyss at this height. I wouldn't say I was scared, but I was. It was. But I had already defeated my inner pig this morning when I got up, so hop on, belly on the board (standing was not allowed, but if you go down standing, you must have fallen down too many times) and off we go! And remember to keep your mouth closed. The board picked up speed, so I briefly feared ending up in the river. But fortunately, the board stopped before that. Take a deep breath. Okay, that was really cool. Again! That was definitely one of the coolest, free (!) activities I have ever done here. Adrenaline was rushing through my body. It was a truly formative experience for me, even though it only lasted a few seconds. Because usually I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat with this kind of thing. That probably sounds too deep for such a triviality, but it felt good to feel how this country somehow pushes you to have new experiences and expand your horizons. Thank you, New Zealand. The North Trip was really awesome!