Another disturbed night filled with dog worry, and then our house mates left at 5 am and we were alone. We were on the road before ten, heading up to Cape Reinga. Because we had Simon’s 4WD SUV Volvo (what we would have called a Wankmobile in my student days), we decided to do part of the drive along 90 Mile Beach. It was so much fun! We enjoyed it so much we did it twice, first for a stretch near the start and then again near the giant sand dunes of Te Paki, where we had to drive along a sandy river bed to get back to the road. It’s a shame my wifi is so crappy or I could have showed you some photos.
After that sport we continued on to the lighthouse. When I visited as a child with my family some decades ago there was a shop there where you could buy food and souvenirs, but all that has gone now. There are some nice toilets and plenty of good quality signage in English and Maori, and excellent paths, but no other infrastructure. The place was packed with tourists. It seems incredible that our borders are closed. People came in all shapes and sizes, colours and cultures, ages and languages. It was great. Presumably it’s even busier when our borders are open.
You could see the area in the nearby sea where according to legend, the two seas meet with interlapping waves. But actually, as Simon pointed out unromantically, it’s probably just an area where the sea floor is quite shallow – and its even marked on google maps as the Columbia Bank. Very disappointing. You can forget you read that if you like.
From there we drove to a nearby DOC picnic spot and camp ground, where I’d stayed a night in a tent as a student and been ravaged by mosquitoes. It was absolutely gorgeous but we left way before sunset.
We hadn’t had any breakfast so by the time we got to Houhora we were starving and ready for a late lunch. We found a bar/restaurant/takeaways which was perfect for our needs. Unfortunately we were embarrassingly overdressed. Well, I was wearing cut offs and a t shirt but I was wearing attractive sandals instead of jandals. Simon was wearing boat shoes – enough said. I had a toasted BLT and Simon had a lamb korma, which the barman spelled with a “C” for some reason. Although, to be fair, he looked at us with narrowed eyes when I asked for a rose to drink with my lunch. Is that some sort of beer? No, its a type of wine. Oh, well yes we have wine – here are three bottles we have in the fridge but they all look white? So I settled for a chardonnay that was very nice. I was able to dip my excess fries in Simon’s korma – I must say, hot chips with curry sauce is England’s greatest contribution to international cuisine IMHO. It was karaoke night at the bar, which seemed surreal. The place was packed except for the tables round the DJ who was having to do all the singing so far, but the night was still young.
From Houhora it was on to Ahipara, a beach on the west coast at the start of 90 mile beach which was our destination for the night. It is absolutely beautiful here, and we have the whole unit with expansive views out to the sea and the setting sun all to ourselves – no shared bathroom here. This is far more my style.
I think my parents came here for their honeymoon – or was it their first date – or possibly both? Not at this motel, though – it’s far too new – plus out of their price range I suspect, sadly. But I’m sure they were very happy nonetheless.
*photos to come when technology permits!