Day Four … to the end we go

Well … what a day! Almost 12 hours out and about and just on 470 km travelled! 

Ian had done an amazing job planning this day, with a clear idea of how long it would take to get from place to place and roughly how long we would spend at each place. So to make the most of our day we were up and on the road by 7.20 am, heading north to the northernmost point of the north island - Cape Reinga. Along the way though, we would pass through some amazing scenery and discover some incredible places.

Our first stop (besides a coffee for me at the Z Energy … a bit like 7 Eleven in Australia but with baristas) was the Te Paki Sand Dunes. These were an incredible sight when you rounded the final corner of the gravel road that took you from the main road in. They cover an area of about 10 kms by 1 km and rise up to a height of 150 m. The sand was a golden colour and at times were quite firm and other times soft and floating in the winds. 

In order to get to them you had to ford a small river, but a few good steps and you landed on to the other side (even though your shoes may be a little wet!). We managed to climb to the top ridge which allowed us views of the sea (hello Australia), the dunes and the forest behind them. Whilst I headed back down to the rocky crags, Ian headed higher up the dunes (try and spot him in the photo). We also watched a few daring folks sandboard down the steepest dune.

(Try and find Ian in the photo above!)

We then headed on northward, stopping for a walk to the top of Otangawhiti Track which afforded us views back to the dunes and forward towards the sea. Then on to Cape Reinga lighthouse, the most northern point of the NZ. The lighthouse has operated since 1941 but has been operating unmanned now since 1987. At the lighthouse we completed an Adventure Lab (I now know all about the Oi … the Great Winged Petrel, the bollards installed to stop the bikers riding their Harleys down to the lighthouse and the toxic serpentine rock that makes it hard for plants to grow) before eating our lunch (you can buy slices of egg and bacon pie from the bakeries here to picnic on!) overlooking the lighthouse.

Heading back south (remember you can’t go any further north!) we visited Gumdiggers Park in Waiharara.  This is an authentic gumfield where the gumdiggers dug and searched for gum resin of the Kauri trees. It was a major export for NZ to England where it was used for furniture polish and varnish. The life of the gumdiggers was pretty harsh as they dug holes near the trees to then mine the gum. The park also has a buried Kauri Forest with one unearthed tree that has been carbon dated to be 120,000 years old. We found the park to be fascinating and well worth the visit.

Our final stop on our journey back to Paihia was to visit Kerikeri, which is about half an hour north of Paihia. Here we visited Rainbow Falls which were stunning and the paths and viewing platforms (there were three at different heights along the falls and river) meant you were able to view the falls both from afar and up close and also the river and weir that fed the falls. We then completed another Ad Lab, this time exploring Kororipo Pa which is where the European and Māori communities lived peacefully side by side. On this adventure we learnt about the Stone Store (built in 1832-1836), Kemp House which is NZ’s oldest surviving building having been constructed in 1822, and St James Church which was built in 1823.

At the end of the day we headed back to our accomodation with some fish and chips (okay not fish for me) which we ate sitting on our balcony looking out over the Bay of Islands … which is tomorrow’s adventure!