NORTHLANDS: 90 MILE BEACH

You can't visit Northlands and not go to 90 Mile Beach.
 The problem is that private vehicles and rental cars aren't insured to drive there, as vehicles frequently get bogged in the sand and have to be abandoned! If we'd run into trouble we knew there would be no rescue facilities near enough to get us out before the tide comes in, and mobile phone coverage is almost nil.
So, the only answer was to take an organised coach trip from Paihia. But the thought of an 11 hour trip, starting at 7.15a.m. was pretty daunting. In the event, it turned out to be the best organised trip we had ever been on!

From Paihia we made our way up the west coast of the Aupori Peninsula to the wide band of sand that is 90 Mile Beach. ( In fact the real length of the beach is 64 miles, but it was originally calculated as being 90 miles by the 19th century drivers of  horse-drawn coaches who normally averaged 30 miles per day and took 3 days to travel along the beach.)

The coach sped along the hard-packed sand - which is officially part of the state highway system.

We stopped and, after being warned by the coach driver about the possible danger,  had a chance to walk around and go for a paddle.....

......though Steve thought it would be more fun to run into the waves.

This photo (below) gives you a good idea of the scale of the beach.

Then we all piled back into the coach and headed for the Te Paki Stream, negotiating the quicksands. The driver pointed out the rusty remains of a Toyota that had got bogged down and had to be abandoned 3 years ago.

We were making for the huge sand dunes that flank the stream.

The sandboards were in the boot of the coach. We all grabbed one and battled our way through the wind, up the dune. After a brief lesson by the driver on how to use the boards some of us, not least Sue, chickened out, but the brave ones like Steve got going.

This is Steve with the green t-shirt.

NORTHLANDS: THE BAY OF ISLANDS CRUISE & CAPE REIGNA

Dolphins:
We'd missed out on seeing any dolphins in the south island when bad weather put paid to our plans to go on the whale-watching trip from Kaikoura. So we knew our last real chance to see any would be on a cruise from Paihia around the Bay of Islands as common dolphins congregate all year round there.
Dolphin-watching is big business, and another boat was leaving at the same time as us.

We'd been at sea about 10 minutes when the captain said dolphins had been spotted nearby, and he moved the boat into position so we could all get a closer look and take photos. They seemed to be following the boat, mostly in pairs and regularly jumping from the water. Corny but true, they are such beautiful, graceful animals. And to be so close to them in their natural environment was really exciting.

Click on the video below to see them truly in action.

We sailed past the Black Rocks, an extensive chain of unusual volcanic rocks.

Captain Cook's 'Endeavour' anchored off  Motuarohia (or Robinson Island), and it was settled by the Robertson family who were all murdered here in 1839. Their killer was brought to trial and convicted the following year, after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and thus became the first man in New Zealand to be executed under British law.

The Cape Brett Lighthouse was built in Thames, near where we are staying in the Coromandel, and barged up the coast and winched 149 metres above sea level. The lighthouse keepers lived and worked here from 1910, when the light was first lit, to 1978 when a new automated light went into service.

The Hole in the Rock:
Piercy Island, standing 148 metres above sea level, was named by Captain Cook after the then Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Piercy Brett.
It didn't to the naked eye seem possible, but our cruise-ship from Paihia passed through the Hole in the Rock, a natural tunnel through Piercy Island.

Once through the Hole in the Rock, we saw these fishermen, who were proudly showing off their catch of Kingfish..........

........and Snapper.

Urupukapuka Island:

The Hole in the Rock was the mid-point of the cruise, and we turned back for Paihia. But there was one last island to visit, the only one of the 144 to accomodate overnight guests. We weren't staying overnight but we were set down on the island at Otehei Bay for an hour to explore and enjoy. The author Zane Grey (writer of best-selling westerns) lived here in 1926 and is known for making game fishing famous in the Bay of Islands.

The sheep are a recent addition to the island as the Department of Conservation decided to reintroduce them to keep the grass under control!

Cape Reigna:

Cape Reigna is the most northerly accessible point in New Zealand. Known in Maori as Te Rerenga Wairua ('The Leaping Place of the Spirits') it is believed to be where the spirits depart. Beginning their journey by sliding down the roots of an 800-year-old pohutukawa tree into the ocean, they climb out again at Ohaua to bid a final farewell before returning to their ancestors in Hawaiiki.

As this is the most northerly place, we had been advised to post some cards from the post box at the Cape as they would be given a special water-mark.

This is where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean.

We set off down the path to the Cape Reigna Lighthouse, perched 164m. above sea level.

'Windy' doesn't come near to describing it, and we had to shelter in the lee of the lighthouse to take photos.