After we left the Tutukaka coast, we drove to the Bay of Islands and stayed a few nights in Paihia at the Waitangi Holiday Park. The day we arrived we took a walk along the path from Haruru Falls to Waitangi. For the next day, we signed up to visit Roberton Island, which sounded like a great place. There were hiking trails and a snorkeling trail in one of the two lagoons on this deserted island 20 minutes offshore, and they told us the water in the lagoons was warm and we didn't need wetsuits. [ocean temp is about 19 C.] Well, don't believe what they tell you. The island is not deserted, sporting several houses and a fleet of private boats constantly landing new people on the beach. The "lagoons" are actually tide pools, and we got there at 10:30 and left at 2:30--low tide was at 1. So the whole time we were there the "lagoons" were dry. We walked along the snorkeling trail, which at that point consisted of some pointy rocks and a couple of oystercatchers looking for food. Not exactly what we signed up for. We did snorkel in the bay, but of course the water was cold and we didn't stay in long. There was one hiking path to the top of the island, and we did walk up that. After that, we were just stuck there until the boat came to get us. We parked ourselves in the shade of a tree and ate lunch, then hung out while the wind whipped at us. It was very pretty, at least.
We left Paihia and stopped in Kerikeri for the Sunday farmer's market. It rained on us, but the market was really nice and we picked up some beautiful veggies and mushrooms and a flat of eggs, and a bottle of Tamarillo vinegar. Guess what a tamarillo is...it's a tomate de arbol which we encountered as juice and trees all over Ecuador. [they're native to South America but grow it in NZ now too.] Go figure! It's good in vinegar too, so we were happy to get some. We drove more north and stopped for lunch overlooking Doubtless Bay. The rain seemed to slack off so we decided to try for the north tip of the island and drove all the way to Tapotupotu Bay near Cape Reinga (which is not actually the northernmost point in NZ, but it's close).
At Tapotupotu we got a "site" at the DOC campground and set off on the walking trail toward the lighthouse at Cape Reinga. Not half an hour after we started, it began to rain on us. We hid under a bush for a bit, then continued on to Sandy Bay when it was a little less rainy. We were rewarded by some sun when we got to the Bay, and jumped in the water to play in the waves. The beach was great: gently sloping to the sea, all sand and no rocks, and super clear water. At one point we noticed a sting ray at our feet and had to leave the water to avoid stepping on it and getting stabbed. The tide was rushing in and we decided to head back before the beach was totally underwater. On our way back, it rained again, but was sort of dry while we cooked dinner next to our car back in Tapotupotu.
The next morning we made the short drive to Cape Reinga and walked down to the lighthouse. There you can see the Tasman Sea meet the Pacific Ocean. It doesn't sound like much, but actually you can see the two bodies of water collide and the waves run into each other. There is all kinds of churning and whirlpools, and waves breaking against seemingly nothing. It's quite chaotic and impressive. You can also just make out some offshore islands to the northwest, which apparently a Maori chief once swam to. Considering he'd have to swim through the crazy smashing waves from two oceans, that's basically a superhuman feat.
Also at Cape Reinga is a sacred Maori site: the tree where souls climb down to the water for their journey to the spirit world. It's quite the tree, hanging off a cliff on this tiny spit of land sticking into the ocean. No pictures of course, out of respect to the tapu.
We drove down the west coast and stopped for lunch in the Puketi forest. Cool forest, but at the time it was occupied by a family illegally camping on the beach with dogs blocking the trailhead [dogs aren't allowed in the parks since they kill kiwi] and a suspicious-looking naked guy in the picnic area. We didn't stay long. After lunch we drove into the Waipu forest and visited Tane Mahuta--the tallest kauri tree in the world at 51 m. We had mentioned in the US that we were getting less and less impressed by this or that big tree, but the kauri in NZ are huge. This one is maybe 2000 years old and not only really tall but also very wide. From the ground you can really only see trunk, hopefully the pictures convey some sense of how huge this tree is.
We looked into the camping in Waipu, but decided that Trounson Karui Park seemed like a better bet. It's a "mainland island" which seeks to keep out all non-natives through aggressive trapping and baiting (with poison) to restore the natural ecological balance. We got a parking spot in their campground and took a walk through the trees, full of kauri and other cool NZ trees. The strange NZ birds were all around and chirping/grunting/hooting. Nice park. After dark we went back into the forest to see if we could spot a kiwi, which are nocturnal. Trounson is home to a decent population of kiwis, and we actually caught a glimpse of one as it scurried away from us in the dark. We also saw lots of glowworms (which don't move and are much easier to find as they glow), but didn't see any of the nocturnal carnivorous snails. Ah well, Hilary would probably have stepped on the snails anyway.
After a cold night in Trounson, we headed south again. Our last stop in the Northlands was a couple wineries near Auckland: Coopers Creek and Kumeu River. The wine was good and we got a few bottles to go with dinners for the next few days. Off to the Coromandel!
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