Back to Auckland

To Cape Reinga and Beyond

By now we had decided the best routine was to drive one day then stay over for two nights, giving a clear day without driving at all. At Taputpputo we used our clear day to walk the Headland Walk to Cape Reinga, only a few ks but most of that vertical, taking in Sandy Beach and two 200 metre climbs along the way. And all of it very hot. When we got to Cape Reinga we had to share the view with coach-loads of visitors doing the 90-mile Beach trip. Felt like we ought to wear a badge saying ‘we walked here’ but I think our sweaty t-shirts and red faces said enough. Carried on down (another 200m) to the beach for a refreshing dip in the surf and then all the way back – a real killer but well worth it.
We have noticed that the birds in New Zealand are far less wary of humans than in Australia, probably due to there being, historically, no native predators. Taputoputo Beach had a couple of dotterels – an endangered species here., perhaps because they lay their eggs any which way on the beach. If you go anywhere near they run straight at you like a Doberman except that they are only about the size of a blackbird. Its hard not to laugh but they are so determined you have to try not to.
Vladen camped well away – he was very good about respecting our privacy - but we invited him over for a beer and offered him a lift out the next day as his chances of getting out otherwise must have been slim and he was running out of food.

Due South

Heading out the following morning we agreed to take Vladen to Kaita, the first decent sized town but we took a detour to visit 90- Mile Beach. Although Len and Cilla didn’t mind us going on un-sealed road, the beach was out of bounds as its quite easy to get bogged down if you don’t know your way around.. We had our lunch there but as far as we were concerned its quality rather length where beaches are concerned and it was a bit like walking down the M1.

We next stopped for coffee at the ancient Kauri Kingdom, a factory outlet for carvings out of the old Kauri timber. We particularly like the ceremonial 5-seater bench at $15,000 but it was difficult to carry so ended up with a paper knife at $4 instead.

At Kaita we dropped Vladen on the main road out and went off to find the municipal dump station and then fill up with water and diesel. An hour later we headed out of town and there he still was so we agreed he might as well stick with us back to Auckland. He was no trouble, in fact good company, and it was clear he was keen to see the same kind of things as us. Although working in the UK and previously in Alaska, he still managed to run a llama farm in the Czech Republic and play in a folk rock band, so we blew his mind with some Fairport Convention from Peter’s Ipod through the car stereo. The last leg of the journey was spent transferring both albums from our laptop onto his mp3 player. Eurovision watch out.