Wednesday, February 27th, Kaitaia, New Zealand

Greetings!

Skipping a long driving day, we let someone else do the driving today.  SandSafaris Unique Travels took a group of us north on both the road, and the famous 90-Mile Beach to almost the northern tip of the country.  That privilege is reserved for another point hardly anyone goes to, but Cape Reinga certainly looked a lot like it.  On the way, our guide Garth, provided great insights into the history of the Maori tribal land stewardship and culture.

At an early rest stop, we discovered 45,000 year- old Kauri trees found in peat moss swamps contained valuable gum sap prized in London and America.  Crucial to the production of oil varnish, paints, and even linoleum, gum-diggers provided 450,000 tons of Kauri gum between 1850 and 1950.

As supply diminished, gum-finding practices took a toll on the forests and workers, and government restrictions were imposed in the early 1900s.

Travel to the northern tip was either by the road or the beach, and the tide today dictated the beach came first.  We used the southern-most ramp onto a stretch between sea and sand dune, and we looked for wild horses behind the dunes.  Garth explained that huge dunes constructed of short trees and sand lined the entire route in order to keep the beach from heading inland to the forests of farmed Monterey pines.  Recent floods have damaged the northern end, and freshwater streams cut into them at points.

 One of the highlights of the beach route was a high dune that tours provide boards and instructions to let adults ride down safely.  Pat and I chose to watch and photograph, and plenty of others slid down the sand.

After a provided lunch at a beautiful beach near the point, we arrived where the Pacific Ocean meets  the Tasman Sea.  Maori belief of the first arrival has it that Hawaiian ancestors came through a pathway stopping first at the three King Islands just off the point, and then landing on the point and making their way down the beaches south.

Maori death beliefs hold that on the return trip, individuals pay homage to a Pohutakawa tree near the beach at the tip, then fly to the Kings Islands, where they thank their family and their tribe, before returning to Hawaii.

To view the rest of the photos taken today, click on: Wednesday, Feb 27th, Kaitaia, New Zealand.