Wednesday, December 22, 2010

NZ #5 : 90-mile beach & cape reinga

just to put things in perspective, this is the north island...
































& this is the top half...













from paihia, we drove northeastwards pass kaitia towards cape reinga. on the eastern coast of this peninsula is the so-called 90-mile beach, although it's actually 60 miles long.
it's a white sand beach & bus/4-wheel drive tours go on the whole length of the beach.













cars are discouraged from doing this as there's a risk they may get stuck in the sand.













we drove up to the firm sand & took a few shots. here, you can see tyre tracks in the foreground where vehicles have travelled before us. 













then went on our way northwards to cape reinga. it's a hilly road & can give one the impression that the car will go off the cliff.

after parking the car, a short winding path leads to the lighthouse.









"reinga" in maori means "underworld" & refers to the Māori belief that the cape is the point where the spirits of the dead leap off the cliff to enter the underworld to return to their traditional homeland of Hawaiiki-a-nui.

they also believe that where the warm tasman sea meets the cold pacific ocean, called "the meeting place", waves of unsettled waters seen off the cape...


.....mark the union of a male & female sea, the whirlpools where the currents clash signifying new life.(a good illustration for our educators to teach sex reproductive education, don't you think?)

we thought we would do sandboarding on the way back but it was just too warm & dry, & the kids didn't think getting sand all over was a good idea.


so we gave it a miss.







tomorrow, we check-out & head south for the coromandel peninsula - for some kiddy attraction. (see map, black arrow)

10 comments:

Reanaclaire said...

the sandboarding looks like fun! but the car in the sand looked terrifying..

Medie007 said...

whoa... cars stuck in the sand...

Anonymous said...

I had a whale of a time sandboarding in Cervantes, Western Australia last Sept.

doc said...

Claire,

cars are discouraged from travelling on the 90-mile beach as some parts have soft sand. car insurance companies will not compensate if cars are trapped in the sand, like in the picture.

doc said...

Medie,

people have been warned so there's no excuse for being trapped there.

doc said...

Mei Teng,

i suppose that's a small price to pay for sand in your hair, pants & shoes.

Unicorn Girl said...

What happens when a car gets stuck in the sand ? Will the towing truck help the situation ?

doc said...

UG,

presumably, it'll need a huge tow truck to pull it out of the sand, but insurance companies won't compensate for damage.

Yvonne Foong said...

Let me know when your next tour is open for registration. :P

doc said...

Yvonne,

next tour is either to london or melbourne, depending on cash flow, weather conditions & immigration requirements, in that order of priority.