Cape Reinga

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Well good morning friends. Today I'm up at Ninety Mile Beach which is very close to the top of the North Island. It is not quite ninety miles long but the beach does go off as far as the eye can see in either direction. I actually hiked along this beach back in early 1995. It was quite an epic effort hiking with the sand dunes on one side and the sea on the other. It's great to be back here exploring the far north today.

Looking back the other way you can see a range of hills in the distance. That is where Kaitaia is, a bit inland from there. I have walked this beach, the first long distance coast hike I did back in early 1995. Given the length of the beach, it was quite a challenge. This beach actually forms part of the Te Awaroa Track. I did see a hiker a couple of kilometres back. Maybe he's doing the Te Awaroa. It's good to be back here after so many years.

Now I'm coming from Cape Reinga at the very top of New Zealand. I've come up from the Bay of Islands today and now at the very top at the cape itself is just down there. This is as far north as I get on this trip. It is almost level with Sydney latitude wise. This is the point where the Maori would depart after dying on their way to Hawaiki in the afterlife. This point also marks the meeting of the Tasman Sea with the Pacific Ocean. The two oceans meet right here. The lighthouse provides navigation.

Looking further along the coast up there you have North Cape and looking back there across the other way you have Cape Maria van Dieman. From there the coast heads southward back towards Ninety Mile Beach. From here it is 1452 kilometres to Bluff at the other end of the country. It is just over two thousand kilometres by road and 3001 kilometres by walking track along the Te Awaroa walking trail. Last time I was here in New Zealand I did Stewart Island which is way down the other end of the country and so this trip I'm up here. Out there you can see where the two seas are meeting. You can see the big swell coming in from the Tasman Sea meeting the swell coming across from the Pacific Ocean. It is quite a dramatic area, one of the most beautiful parts of New Zealand. I was last up here back in 1995. From here at the time I hiked out from here to the other cape, then down the coast. So here I am at Cape Reinga and from here it's all southward.

Thanks friends for joining me again today. I'll catch you somewhere else south of here tomorrow. Until then, ciao for now.