Trip to Cape Reinga & 90 Mile Beach (NZL)

10/08/2019

From Paihia, I took a day trip up north to Cape Reinga. Since I am not traveling by car and there are no public transportation options to get there, I booked a trip with InterCity (the bus company I use to get around New Zealand) to go there.

We started in the morning and the first stop was at the 90 Mile Beach - which is actually only 55 miles long.

The bus driver told us that the name came about because the first settlers thought that the beach was 90 miles long. Apparently, it took them three days to ride along the beach, which in their calculation meant a distance of 90 miles. What the settlers apparently didn't know back then was that the sand slows down the horses, making the actual distance traveled shorter.

At low tide, you can drive along the beach by car or even by bus.

Behind the 90 Mile Beach, the sand piles up into impressive dunes. That was the second stop for sandboarding. First, you had to climb up the dune (take one step forward and slide half a step back). Once you reached the top, you could enjoy the magnificent view and then lie on your stomach on the board and race down the dune at high speed. Conclusion: It was a lot of fun :)

The next stop was Cape Reinga. Cape Reinga is almost the northernmost point of New Zealand, where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet. The tourist attraction there is the lighthouse and signs indicating the distances to other famous places in the world.

In Maori belief, this is a spiritual place because the souls of the deceased embark on their journey to the land of their ancestors.

The last stop of the trip was at a Kauri forest. There, you could take a short walk through the forest.

Kauri trees are huge (height: 30-50 m, diameter: 1-4 m) trees native to the northern part of New Zealand.