Cape Reinga and the Great Sand Dunes

We are on the Road!! Finally, we were able to reach our first destination. It took us a total of 5 days to drive up the east coast. At first, it was really confusing driving on the left side. Everything is opposite, roundabouts suddenly didn't make sense anymore, the windshield wipers would turn on when you wanted to signal, and the mirrors of cars parked on the side of the road were in immediate danger. It took 1-2 days until we completely got used to it, and sometimes, even when there was no other car on the road, we would still drive on the wrong side. We would realize it when oncoming traffic came :D

We stayed at many great campsites and were able to enjoy all of it in the best weather. We did 2 smaller walks, one to the largest Kauri tree in New Zealand. Truly impressive. And we went swimming in the ocean for the first time because the weather kept improving. Slowly, I had to get used to cold showers because either you bite the bullet or you stay dirty :D Of course, you can also just go to a paid campsite, which always have warm showers. But we wanted to do that as rarely as possible. Sometimes, you still can't avoid it, and then it's always a little luxury :)

The drive to Cape Reinga was exhausting and you can't compare the roads here with German roads at all. New Zealand is partially one big serpentine, going up and down, and nothing is secured. So, even short distances take time.

Cape Reinga is the northernmost point of New Zealand and definitely worth a visit. You take a short walk from the parking lot to the lighthouse and have a fantastic view of the vast ocean. A beautiful place to linger for a while.

About 15 kilometers away are the 'Great Sand Dunes,' which we also paid a visit to. You can rent sandboards and entry is free. It's quite exhausting to climb a huge sand dune, and once you're at the top, it feels like you're in a real desert. Depending on where you stand, you can even see the sea on one side. We didn't rent any sandboards and still had a lot of fun just running down the big dunes.