Mountain Peaks & Ocean Depths: The Winterless North

We woke the next morning to more sun, a plan to reach the top of NZ and see 90 miles of beach along the way. We were disappointed 90 mile beach was only 55 miles long, but as we couldn’t see either end, it didn’t really matter! The beach is also a road frequented by tour buses, 4x4s and drivers who don’t know what they’re doing, hence the warning signs suggesting it may be wiser to walk on the beach instead of drive.

Is the warning enough?

The road to the beach

It's not only the cars you need to look out for on the beach

It's not a busy highway but they do drive fast

Graffiti on the beach

We finally reached Cape Reinga. There’s not too many places in the world where you can see two oceans or seas colliding. The Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet at the top of NZ creating turbulent waves, strong currents and a place to avoid swimming. There’s also Cape Reinga lighthouse and stunning views down the island to enjoy.

The Tasman Sea (left) meets the Pacific Ocean (right)

Looking back down the west coast

Cape Reinga Lighthouse

I want to go to Tokyo!

A longish, bumpy, dusty drive brought us out to Spirits Bay (just around the corner from Cape Reinga). It was so calm and peaceful, and since the DOC campground was perfectly placed (and cheap!) we decided to stay for a night. This is where campers are so great. We hadn’t planned on staying up here. So when our plans changed, it was cool to be able to go with the flow and not miss out on a place.

Sunset at Spirits Bay

At first glance, it might appear that there is little to do at Spirits Bay. But I reckon it would be easy to fill in 2-3 days here. For one, the beach takes a day to walk along. Mark and Elise warned us. We heeded their advice and just looked at the length of it. We went swimming in the rolling surf instead, playing in the waves which were a little stronger than the casual east coast swells.

Surf's up (kind of!)

The mountain looking over the bay is sacred to the local Maori people and so you are not allowed to climb it. There’s caves about halfway up that were historically used as burial grounds and bones of their ancestors are still there. You can wander around the foot of the mountain though and head out on the peninsula - another longish walk that we also decided to look at from the comfort of the sandy beach.

The sacred mountain reflected in the estuary

Speaking of comfortable, sandy beaches, there is one unwelcome feature here. I found myself swatting away tiny midges all evening. Repellent didn’t work. Trackies didn’t work. I managed to accrue 75 bites on one leg before retreating to the van to figuratively lick my wounds in peace. And unfortunately the bites stuck around for several weeks. You have been warned!

Cape Reinga is at the tip of the peninsula in the background

The final stop on our trip was in Kerikeri where we stayed with Maria and Craig for a few days. Maria and I met way back in university but we've stopped counting how long ago that was now!

Maria, Craig and the kitten that adopted them

Kerikeri is home to the oldest building in NZ, the Stone Store. When you consider it’s about 180 years old, those Kauri trees just up the road seem positively ancient! The gardens surrounding it are stunning and the river is great for cooling your feet on a hot summers day.

The oldish Stone Store

Hanging out in the shade of the garden

Friendly locals

The Stone Store standing on stones

Mahinepua peninsula juts out into the ocean about 30 minutes drive from Kerikeri. It’s one of those hidden gems. A place you find if a local tips you off. And one of my favourite walks around. The path out to the point is pretty easy going, although there are a few stairs to get up the 2 steep hills. Don’t worry about that though, the views are absolutely worth it.

Made it to the highest point

Silhouettes

Looking back where we walked

The dreaded stairs

My favourite view

Our final day was spent out in Whangaroa Harbour in Craig and Maria’s boat. There are plenty of little bays to explore and mountains to climb here (if you have better shoes than jandals). We settled for a picnic in the sun and a lot of banter about who forgot their shoes.

The hill we could have climbed up

Picnic time instead

Lunch was rounded off with a couple of drinks at Kingfisher Lodge, a boutique lodge you can only reach by boat. Between watching stingrays swim around in the shallow bay and enjoying the unblemished view of the harbour, we decided it wasn’t such a bad spot to relax at all.