Mr Sea, Meet Mr Ocean

So today was the day of my trip to Cape Reinga. We were collected outside the Hostel at 7.00am by a big yellow bus which is a change from the big green Kiwi Experience bus! According to Wikipedia, Cape Reinga is the northwestern most tip of the Aupouri Peninsula at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand.

The name of the cape comes from the Māori word 'Reinga', meaning the 'Underworld'. Another Māori name is 'Te Rerenga Wairua', meaning the “leaping-off place of spirits”. Both refer to the Māori belief that the cape is the point where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld, the spirits of the dead travel to Cape Reinga on their journey to the afterlife in the spiritual homeland of Hawaiki, using the Te Ara Wairua, the 'Spirits' pathway'. At Cape Reinga they depart the mainland by leaping off an 800 year old Pōhutukawa tree on the cape. They turn briefly at the Three Kings Islands for one last look back towards the land, then continue on their journey.

Cape Reinga is generally considered the separation marker between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. From the lighthouse it is possible to watch the tidal race, as the two seas clash to create unsettled waters just off the coast.

There you go – A brief history of Cape Reinga! Our bus driver took about 4 hours to tell us that, literally, so be thankful! The driver was a bit of a weirdo, he kept making jokes that just weren’t funny in any way and when I don’t find something funny then you know it isn’t funny as I laugh at literally everything. He also kept lying to us which was mean as I am quite a trusting person. I don’t think I’m gullible, because I’m not an idiot, but if you tell me something then I will believe you – I don’t know why anyone would try to trick people, quite clearly it’s a personality defect. Jerks. Anyway, our driver was a pain in the ass, he went on and on and on (like what I’m doing now) and lied a lot and tried to be funny when he clearly wasn’t.

So yeah, we made our way up to the Cape, had a few stops on the way, we stopped at a bakery, which was gross and we stopped at some forest place, it has some big trees that are native in New Zealand and are really special and there protected but back in the day the Europeans cut a whole bunch down. The driver told us a super long story, which was quite interesting but I can’t really be bothered typing it all out – if you really wanna hear it, Facebook me! After looking at the trees we drove for ages, the driver did some more talking and we eventually got to Cape Reinga. There is a lighthouse and you walk down the hill to get to it, then when your there you can see where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet, which was cool… Wikipedia has already explained all that so I don’t need to, but basically, it was cool.

Then we all got back into the bus and went down to a beach, had a paddle and a bit of lunch! It was cool, paddling in the Pacific Ocean because our next stop was 90 mile beach, where I paddled in the Tasman Sea. 90 mile beach is actually about 60 miles long, but it’s legally classed as a highway, so people can drive on it if they want! So our bus drove the length of the beach, we went in the water and everything, so that was cool… very bumpy, but quite cool!

We also went sand boarding, which was overrated, but quite fun. Basically we climbed up this MASSIVE sand dune, which nearly killed me and then when we got to the top, we slid down on a boogie board. Exciting stuff I know, some people had epic falls because it’s like wet at the end of the sand dune, so they came off at the bottom and got a face full of wet sand. Nice.

On the way back to the Hostel we stopped and got fish and chips, but we had to eat them with our hands because apparently that’s what people do in this country. Gross. But the food tasted nice! When we got back I went for another epic walk – it gives me something to do as there isn’t a lot to do in Paihia, but it’s pretty to look at! Then I headed to the living room and watched some random T.V show that I’ve never seen before, it was possibly called The Unit, but that could be lies. Then I went to the bar for a bit, but it was super busy so I just went to bed! Earplugs are the best invention ever! Like really. Put the earphones in, head on the pillow and that’s me out! Even in the morning when everyone is getting ready it doesn’t even bother me! Also, the eye patch things that they give out on the plane are great, I don’t know if I could survive without my earplugs and my eye coverer things, I might look like a deaf and blind pirate, but at least I’m well rested!

xx