Our Northland road trip

Emily and I were fortunate enough to be given a week off by our host, and they gave us their Toyota Rav4 free of charge to use. We took a four day road trip to explore Northland NZ. We traveled up the west coast, and saw the giant Kauri trees and giant sand dunes in Te paki. We then headed to Cape Reinga, which is situated at the very North of NZ and saw where the Tasman sea and Pacific ocean meet. We then proceeded to the Bay of Islands on the east coast, and took in some warm water and white sandy beaches. We finished off our road trip with a visit to Muriwai beach and bird sanctuary. We will start with some pics from the West coast.

West Coast:

Scenic lookout on our drive up the West coast. The Tasman sea is off in the distance.

Emily about to start her hike up the the look out, that gives you a great view of the Kauri forest, which is a protected reserve. No fires allowed in this region at the camp sites.

Standing on a fallen down Kauri tree.

The kiwi bird is an endangered species. All dogs cats and other land predators are banned from all known regions where Kiwis inhabit. Kiwi's only ever come out at night, making them rare to see. Emily and I have yet to see one. We have heard them at night, however as they make a distinctive sound.

Emily a top the lookout tower that took us an hour and a bit to hike to. From here we could see the entire Kauri forst and some beautiful views of the Tasman sea.

Our Rav4 that took us 500km up the to the north and back

Emily and I sitting by some rock figures close to where we camped out for the night, following our hike in the Kauri forest.

We decided to add some Canadian flare, and built this inukshuk beside the rock figures. The next person who sees it is going to be freaked out haha and be like what is that. Now the people will know we were here.

Emily hugging a Kauri tree. These trees are ancient, with the oldest and largest tree being around 2000 years old.

Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest) The oldest known Kauri tree in NZ. The Maori have a deep respect for this place.

Emily with the lord of the forest, and as you can see, we were unable to capture the entire tree in the picture.

The video above, is of the four sisters. These Kauri trees share the same root system,  which is rare to see.

The following pictures are of are adventure on the Te Paki sand dunes:
We thought that the walk over the dunes to the sea would be a simple task, even though a local said it was 3 km to the beach. We got the the sea ok, but when we returned we veered of course somehow and ended up getting a little lost on the dunes, which once your on them you can only see sand in all directions. We eventually found the tree line and followed it until we came across the car park where we had left the car. After the fact, we looked at a map and we somehow managed to veer roughly 4km in the wrong direction. We now know how people can easily loose their baring in a desert. 

Mountains of sand. These dunes were originally pushed toward the sea form inland NZ following a series of volcanoes a few thousand years ago. The sand was pushed into streams that flowed into the ocean and then the tides brought the sand back to shore. These dunes today, travel with the wind and ocean tides, shifting over time. We have never seen anything like this in our lives. Beautiful and kinda scary all at the same time.

The Tasman sea off in the distance. It took us roughly 2 hours to hike to the beach and then another 3 to get back as we got lost.

Finally reached the sea. The beach I am standing on is called: ninety mile beach, and bus tours are run on the actual beach daily. Motorist also take their vehicles onto the beach at low tide. Many people have misjudged the tides and have lost their car or truck to the ocean.

Emily making her way down a massive sand dune. Many people actually surf down these dunes.

Emily and myself were more than relieved when we saw the shiny green Rav in the distance from a top a sand dune. Emily is showing her affection for the car in this pic.

Made it back from the desert in one piece. Don't worry we had lots of sun screen on.

The following pictures are of Cape Reinga and the east coast (Bay of Plenty)

Walk on the way down to the Cape Reinga Light house

Emily taking advantage of the bench to rest her legs. And also to strike a nice pose. That is the Pacific ocean behind her.

It is hard to see, but this is where the Pacific and Tasman meet, and there are some intense currents that clash here. On stormy days, the waves here can get as big as 10 m high when the two seas meet.

The lighthouse used to be maned with a light keeper but now it is fully automated. It is the first point that ships see if they are traveling from the north of NZ.

Only 18 thousand km to Vancouver from the cape.

Where to next?????

Only surviving tree on this rock face. Maori believe the spirits of their people pass through the roots of this tree into the ocean where they make the journey to their resting ground on islands off in the distance. Cape Reinga is a very spiritual place for the Maori. They believe the souls of their dead pass through here down the cliffs and into the ocean.

Water fall that m and I hiked to in Paihia in the Bay of Islands

One of the oldest church's in NZ

Doors are always left unlocked to allow people to worship anytime of day.

Emily testing out the pew

Muriwai beach close to Kumeu where we are staying. Very popular surf beach.

At the bird sanctuary located at Muriwai beach. These Gannet birds travel great distances to nest on these rocks.

Hundreds of Gannet birds

That is our 4 day trip up north in a nutshell. We wish we had more time, as there was so much to see and do. If any of you come for a visit we will be sure to make the north a stopping point.
We have about one week left here in Kumeu before we head off on our next wwoofing experience. We are having dinner tonight with a fellow X grad who has invited us over, should be good.
Hope all is well. John and Emily from New Zealand