Tuesday 28 July 2009

My trip to the Far North

I wonder why they call the northen end of the country, the Far North and the southern end of the country as the Deep South?

After having visited the southern tip of New Zealand, I now had the opportunity to visit the other end of the country, Cape Reinga. This is not quite the northen tip but the most northern tip accessible. The North Cape which is 3 km further north from Cape Reinga is a reserve where public has no access to.

On the way, up to Cape Reinga we took the 90 mile beach which is apparently about 90 km but hey, who's to argue. There was a 100km/h speed limit on the beach which is also part of the highway. Cars can drive on the beach during low tide although some did not quite make it. You see parts of vehicle buried deep in the sand, despite the warning.

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A bus which was trying to cross almost in the nick of time. The driver had to go in to check the depth of the water before the bus could cross.

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Parts of the beach where there are sand dunes are massive. People, mostly tourists, use these dunes to sand board, like snow boarding, only this is on sand.

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And finally the Cape!

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According to Maori legend, the tree right at the bottom of this cliff is where the spirits leave this world.

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I made it to the tip!

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Wednesday 22 July 2009

Sunset

Brilliant colours in the sky as the sun started to set this evening right in front of our house!