Lighthouses, Beaches and trees

Fancy driving on this - 90mile beach
The lighthouse

Say farewell

Amazing dunes

The, almost, most northerly tip of New Zealand is Cape Reinga, and although quite a way to drive to it, has a lovely lighthouse warning off any boats that may be travelling either the Tasman sea or the Pacific. This is also where the Maori believe the souls of their dead move to the next world, and based on the view it would be quite a journey. As is the journey to get to the north tip. Although surrounded by coast the road goes straight up the middle of the land and you barely get a single view of the ocean, which kind of makes when you do see it all the more rewarding. If you were not in a hire car your drive back from the point could be along the beach - 90 mile beach, which is in fact 60 miles long - but due to the beach being relatively narrow and you having to do the drive 2 hours pre or post tide hire companies do not insure you to take the trip - surprising huh! You can visit the beach but I am sure I couldn't see for 60 miles, but it was a very long way and those waves sure do crash in so I wouldn't want to mess up those tide times, hire car or no. The west coast of Northland is just as scenic as the east and takes in cliffs and dunes and beaches and into a forest where the Kauri tree grows. The Kauri tree is the largest tree in NZ and I am not sure how it compares to the giant sequoias in the states but they sure are big - large white trunk with a girth of...........lots!