We stopped in Kaitaia to browse a farmers market before we made the rest of our trek. We got avocados, pears, and chocolate filled crescents.Yum! We continued our drive to Cape Reinga. What stunning views! Cape Reinga is the at the very tip top of the north island of New Zealand. It had turquoise water, green shrubbery, steep cliffs, and a charming lighthouse. We had a picnic lunch and then headed down a trail to the lighthouse. We loved seeing the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean come together with waves crashing as the waters met.
We continued to our next much anticipated journey to the Te Maki sand dunes. We changed into our beach attire in the car park and headed to rent 2 boogie boards at the bottom of the dunes. It was a steep and tiresome walk to the top of the dunes but the kids didn't complain at all and were so excited to start the real fun. Cody and Gavin were keen to be the first to zoom down the hill. Gavin had no fear! He jumped on his board and sped down the dune soon fast! He kept up with Cody and they both biffed it at the bottom because of their crazy speed. But, they were all smiles and were anxious to do it again and again. Since Ethan saw how fast and reckless Gavin had been on his first run, he decided to be more cautious and sit on his board on his bum instead of his tummy the first ride down. But he still went so fast that he abandoned ship at the end and he and his board tumbled to a stop too. It was so funny to watch from the top! I was cringing as they crashed but they were happy and not harmed. Trevor did not want to try. At all. He was content just watching his crazy brothers. But, I convinced him to go if I went. He was brave and loved it. We learned that you could better control your speed if you kept your feet in the sand. You better believe that's what I did because I did not want to crash! Trevor and I were content with a slow and steady ride down =) Reese was in her element in the sand and loved climbing the dunes and cheering on her family.
Our next adventure was to drive along 90 Mile beach. Luckily for us, it was perfect timing of low tide. We said a prayer that our van wouldn't get stuck in the sand and we started our journey. What a blast! When can you drive in the sand along a beach?! Cody did lots of donuts and the kids thought it was the coolest thing as I was screaming from the passenger seat for him to be done! =) The beach was completely empty. Cody got up to driving 120 km/h (80 mph) along the stretch of sand. We drove for over an hour on the smooth wet sand. Since we were alone on the beach, Cody let each child have a turn at the wheel. They were in heaven! Each boy took it very seriously and were cautious in their trusted task. But Reese. She took the wheel and started turning it back and forth like she was playing a video game. She was laughing so hard! She is so carefree! As we were enjoying our freeing drive, I saw a large fish out the window near the water. I yelled for cody to stop because it looked like a dolphin! He turned around and reassured me it was only a fish. The boys and I jumped out of the car to find a school shark!! It was amazing! It was in perfect condition and it almost looked like it would awaken at any moment. It was the highlight of my day! Only a fish….
Originally we had planned to camp. But, after having a pretty chilly week in Auckland, I just didn't have it in me to be any colder…especially when sleeping outdoors. So, we booked a room at a motel in Kaitaia (they don't really have large hotel chains here…). It ended up being more expensive than we thought it was supposed to be because the motels here charge per person, not per room like the states. So we had to pay for the room price, plus pay per child. Oh well. It was a cute little 2 bedroom apartment and it was nice to take hot showers, watch a movie, and sleep in warm beds.
We packed all of our nice church clothes so we could go to church in Kaitaia on Sunday morning. We got ready and packed up the car and drove to the close church building only to find the car park locked up with no cars in site. It must have been Stake Conference that day and the nearest building was over an hour away. So we had a little lesson and watched a church movie in the car. We tried to stay focused on God's gift of beautiful nature to us and still keep the sabbath day holy. We enjoyed our gorgeous surroundings as we drove south. The rolling hills were amazing and peaceful. We saw lots of cattle, sheep, and turkey. There were so many charming little towns and houses that we passed along the way. We had heard stories of cattle and sheep taking over the roads and getting in the way of cars but we had yet to experience it…until this day! We were driving along when all of the sudden we came to a standstill with a herd of cattle on the winding road! It was so cool! Behind the group of cows came their master herding them along with 2 dogs. He was a friendly man and stopped and chatted with us for a minute. It was a cool experience.
We continued our journey south and decided it would be fun to take a car ferry instead of taking another driving route to our destination. The kids had never been on a car ferry before. Reese thought we were going to be riding a real fairy (as in Tinker Bell) and was a little disappointed when it was only a boat ferry! =) We were surrounded by beautiful green land and you could see a cute red roofed church in the distance. The view was breathtaking! When we hit land we parked and had a picnic near the water as we watched boats and fed seagulls.
Our final destination was the famous Kauri Forest. We walked the trails to view the largest kauri in the world. They were fat and tall and so unique. They protect their kauri really well here and you always have to brush and wash your shoes before entering and exiting a forest and you should never touch them. But there was one kauri that was not behind a fence that we could touch and the kids enjoyed trying to wrap their arms around its large trunk. We always love walking the peaceful forests and tracks.
We found a picnic bench and busted out our camping oven and made quesadillas for dinner. We were in kiwi bird territory so since it was starting to get dark (kiwi are nocturnal) we decided to hide in the bush and search for kiwi. It was a long shot but it was still fun to try. If we can see a shark, then we can find a kiwi! Maybe next time…
What a great end to an amazing weekend. We made some pretty great memories!
Here's a video of our grand adventure:
https://youtu.be/gPTC_OEImG0
Here's a video of our grand adventure:
https://youtu.be/gPTC_OEImG0
Those photos of the north end with the 2 oceans coming together, #4-5, were mesmerizing. This trip of yours I really envy. Awesome photography!!
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