Long roads and Willy's madness: Cape Reinga & 90 Miles Beach

After my full-day boat tour, I embark on a full-day bus tour. We start at 7 AM because the journey to New Zealand's northernmost point is quite far. Our bus driver is named Willy; he is (a bit) eccentric and talks non-stop. I mean, really. He is the one who, in the middle of a sentence about safety regulations on the bus, suddenly yells 'Oh look outside, sheep!' without taking a breath and declares the bus to be a single love bus (I think he hopes for the best from it; spoiler: it doesn't work). It's amusing and at times quite exhausting. On the return trip, I was even briefly considering offering him $100 if he would keep quiet for 5 minutes...

Once everyone is picked up and the bus is pretty full, we continue with a quick coffee stop at a café with the best chocolate brownies in the world, and we drive on and on until we finally arrive late in the morning: Cape Reinga! This place is not only worth seeing because of the scenery and the lighthouse erected there, but it also holds geographical and cultural significance. For one, the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet here, which can even be seen as the water is differently colored. For the Māori, this place has a special meaning; it is said that the souls of the deceased set out in search of the peak of a specific island from here and embark on their final journey, of course after taking one last look back toward New Zealand. Unfortunately, we only have a narrow hour to see and feel this place because due to the long drive, it's already around noon, and we have more to do. There’s a lunch break at a café by a beautiful lake, and three people go swimming. Among them is Willy, who simply goes into the water fully dressed (What else? Probably everyone is secretly relieved that he doesn't just strip off). Naturally, we can't continue without Willy having more crazy ideas, and so we find ourselves in a circle at the café dancing to wake up from our fish and chips coma; everyone has to demonstrate dance moves twice, and the others have to follow. In round two, I can't think of anything more, so I let myself be caught up in Willy's madness and spontaneously bust out twerking moves, which is funny because everyone joyfully joins in with laughter, and Willy is a bit perplexed. Only this one Asian couple, I think, is slowly wondering how they ended up in this...

Even though we've gotten a bit hyped up, half the bus falls asleep on the ride to 90 Mile Beach. We wake up at the latest when Willy interrupts his chatter with 'Oh look outside, wild horses!' After an exciting drive onto the beach (a rather tricky endeavor with a full tour bus; fortunately, we don't get stuck), we drive along this very long beach that lives up to its name for a while. Occasionally, people go to the front to take pictures, and when I join in, Willy, in his insanity, says to me: 'You wanna Drive?!' and slides over in the driver's seat. Since I currently say 'Yes!' to everything in an improv theater mentality, including these wild ideas, I squeeze in next to him and thus drive a tour bus over a beach. I learn: not too close to the water, not too close to your sand, always follow the tracks of the previous vehicle. How well others find this, I don't know; I find it very good!

Arriving at a suitable spot, we stop, get out, and continue with funny activities that Willy further spices up with his madness:

1. Sandboarding (Willy jumps over everyone who makes it down)

2. Building a pyramid (Out of people; Willy does a handstand in front)

3. Shell collecting (Willy is raw)

4. Beach walk, during which the bus picks us up further ahead (Willy does nonsense again and first walks with me, then with my seatmate Nat, and finally with both of us hand-in-hand, asking if anyone will notice that no one is driving the bus anymore)

Finally, he eventually decides to go get the bus because it is already late, and we have a long drive ahead. This is accompanied by a karaoke session from various individuals, which unfortunately goes on too long, and along with Willy's incessant chatter, by the end of the day, my ears are so tired that I just want to hide. Unfortunately/luckily, I had arranged to meet a Dutch woman I met the day before during Boom Netting, who was also on the tour today, for a drink, which turns out to be a really lovely evening. And I would have regretted it had I not at least been to this pub called 'Tipsy Oyster,' where not only the name but also the colorful decor brings a smile to the face. However - as tired as I am today, I probably haven't been this exhausted throughout the entire trip... 12 hours with Willy are extremely draining.