Cape Rainga Tour
I woke up at 630 not too hungover to be picked up for the far north tour. We saw some really big trees (I was sleeping for the explanation) and the lighthouse at the northernmost tip of New Zealand. The Maori belive that this is the place where the dead leave the world for their eternal life. What was amazing about this place is that you can see both the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean, and can actually see a difference. At the time, the Pacific was a sparkly blue and holding true to its name, much more peaceful than the grey Tasman. We drove down to the Pacific side to eat lunch and swim. I forgot my suit so I rolled up my shorts as much as possible but still got soaked. The waves were as intermittent as they were in the Southwest corner of Australia and got me when I wasn’t looking.
There were some sand dunes nearby that we could boogyboard down so we got some quick instructions and tredged up the dune, each step becoming one step backward as the sand was falling as we climbed. After finally making it to the top, I lied down on the board on my stomach, pulled the front of the board towards me, and pushed off. It was fun going down (but not at all unlike sledding I would do at home, minus the snow) but when I hit the bottom I released the board from my hands and ended up knocking the wind out of myself! Once I caught my breath, I was able to laugh at myself, but decided that once was enough, and watched all the boys have fun.
After that, we headed for the 90 mile beach (which isn’t even 60 miles long) to park in the sand, hopefully not sink, and swim in the Tasman. Well, actually, we weren’t allowed to swim here as the current is bad, but of course I got my feet wet. We drove down the beach, which is technically considered a highway and saw some fisherman in raingear waist deep in the water and some half sunken vehicles. It was very cool to see the crazy waves flying by as we drove past. The tour was probably over around 7, so I’m guessing I went to bed at 9 that night, so extremely tired.
Tags: 1, New Zealand
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