North Island – Auckland – Cape Reinga, New Zealand – 2023 – Day 4-7

02/17/23

Auckland, New Zealand

A later start to the day trying to recover from 30+ hours of transit. Started our day at Rosie for brunch in Parnell. I ordered the sourdough pancakes, stone fruit & gelato w/ bacon (27NZD).

I told myself I would get a tattoo when I returned to New Zealand. After 13 years, I got tattooed by Terje Koloamatangi. An absolutely wonderful experience. A custom Wayfarer tattoo using Tongan symbols.

The weather was stunning and we were so grateful since 2 weeks prior, Auckland was flooded. We went to Mount Eden area and had a late lunch at Sushi Wa Kim Chef. They make small batches of different variety of sushi pieces to fried chicken and you do a-la-carte style and each piece has it’s own price. I got a plate and a ginger beer (15.80NZD)

With our bellies full and good spirits, we walked over and went up to Mt Eden Lookout. Such a wonderful place to have views over the city with 360 views. A little windy but it felt refreshing.

Other options for spectacular views – One tree hill and Mt Victoria.

After hanging out at the top for a good while, we ended up walking back to the Parnell area and it was perfect time for dinner.

We found ourselves at Bandung for Indonesian food. We ordered the Bandung salad (due to the flooding, spinach and eggs were in short supply), cumi (chili, cumin, lime fried spiced squid rings) and Rendang Pandang (traditional Indonesian beef dry curry slow cooked in spices)

02/18/23

Paihia, New Zealand

Out of the city we go. We booked with New Zealand Coach Tours this 3 day 2 night tour of The Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga. They took care of organizing with 3 different tour companies, accommodation and transportation to and from Auckland.

Day 1/3 starting off with Total Tours.

A low of 16°C to start the day, turned to a high of 23°C but windy.

After a lengthy 4.5hr bus ride (quite windy in parts), we made it to Paihia. The conditions had been rough due to the cyclone passing through closing roads down and businesses trying to recover after flooding. We were told this has been the shortest summer they’ve had here with the amount of rain and flooding. It was only 5 days prior that Paihia was still flooded and internet was out.

We stayed by the beachside which is very lovely at Sea Spray Motel.

To begin our tour, we visited the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Waitangi is the most historic site in New Zealand as the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between the local Maori and the British Government. Hoping signing the treaty would build a relationship that would stop fighting between tribes as the Maori could have control over sales of Maori land and and good/tariffs on the Europeans.

Similar to what the British had done to the Indigenous of what is now Canada. They deceptively tried to get the Indigenous to sign a treaty written in their native Language saying they will work together and share the land however in the English language treaty version, the wording of sovereignty and ceding/handing over all rights was present. The British had no desire to share the land and wanted absolute sovereignty and hunger over owning land.

Very informative and the tour guide Gordon was amazing and funny. We ended our time there with a cultural performance in the carved house showcasing waiata (singing), poi, Maori weaponry and the haka.

After our time at Waitangi Treaty Grounds, we went for groceries and had dinner at Charlotte’s Kitchen on the pier. We ate Sichuan salt & pepper squid w/gochujang mayo (19NZD), Linguine ai Frutti do Mare w/prawns, squid, market fish, mussel, basil, garlic, sundried tomatoes and jalapenos) (33NZD) and Funghi pizza (29NZD).

02/19/23

Cape Reinga, Te Paki, Ninety Mile Beach, New Zealand

Day 2 of 3 of our tour. Hopped onto a coach bus run by Fuller GreatSights and along with 44 people, Tanya our tour guide took us up to the northernmost point of New Zealand. The main highways (hwy10) were made by the Maori but expanded wider by the British to allow space for horses and carriages

This tour use to operate with 14 drivers but now it’s down to 3 drivers and they go 4 times a week. The pandemic unfortunately changed a lot. The cyclone had also made things a little more difficult as you need to add an additional 30 minutes for travel time.

This area is known as the Winterless North. February should be the hottest month but long spells of rain and the cyclone have changed things. It is usually a high of 20-35°C in the summer and in the winter 10-15°C.

Due to the effects of the cyclone, the order of the day was altered and unfortunately the Puketi Kauri Forest was taken out.

We did a quick stop to Mangonui Harbour to grab a morning snack. There is a famous fish and chip place you must try if you are in the area.

We drove through Kerikeri, Whangaroa Harbour & Taipa.

Our first stop was Te Paki for bodyboarding on the sand dunes. It was drier than normal so it wasn’t as fast as it usually gets where you finish off in the stream. You need to walk to the dunes in ankle deep river which is super soft and refreshing. The hard part is climbing up the dune. When you are up there, you can go down on your belly using your feet as brakes or you can sit on the board. The temperatures picked up and got up to 31°C on the sands. It was fun but tiresome.

We all loaded back on the bus and made our way to the Te Rerenga Wairua aka Cape Reinga – the northernmost point of New Zealand. The Cape is the departing place for the Maori spirits and the place where the Tasman sea and a Pacific Ocean meet. The lighthouse there is solar powered and has the same power as 1000 candles and can be seen up to 50km away. The lighthouse itself is only 85 years old.

It’s about a 10 min walk down but be to honest, you will definitely stop multiple times to just soak in the views. It’s about 15 mins to walk back up. Just remember not to bring food to eat or drink at the lighthouse as it is indeed sacred grounds.

Our final big stop of the day was to Ninety Mile Beach. It’s not really 90 miles but back then, horses would ride roughly 30 miles a day on that beach area which they assumed was 90 miles but didn’t taken into effect horses getting stuck in the sand or the buggies but its actually 55 miles (88km). Cars are allowed to drive 100km but coach buses 90km on the beach. The cyclone made the beach a little too soft for us to drive fully on it from the sand dunes so we had to detour a bit.

If you are driving, go above the tide and never too close to the dunes.

As with many tours, it’s a bunch of random people put together to see the same things. The mornings are always awkward and by the middle to end of day, people start opening up to one another. Bev and myself were seated separately but over the course of the day, we eventually befriended our seat neighbours – always ends positively I think. Our new friends from the day were Angie from Hamburg, Germany and Blyth from Scotland.

Blyth studied Ecology and was travelling New Zealand North to South in 20 days. He got stuck in transit during the cyclone and was displaced in Brisbane before making it to New Zealand. Sampling New Zealand to figure out if he wants to work there.

We ended the day back in Paihia. We went to Oceans 68 Fish and Chips & Takeaways. We got the dory fish with chips (18NZD) and squid rings (6.50NZD).

Some tidbits of New Zealand and Maori history we learned from the tour:

-When the ancestors of the Maori first found the land of nz, they saw a long white cloud which is what aoeterea means. They brought with them plants and animals such as rats and dogs. By the time James cook landed, there were about 150000 Maori living on the lands.

-Kauri tree (Cody pronounced r’s as d’s) the larger ones are cut down to build ships and the younger for smaller masts on boats. Before, they would cut them down and dragged to the water and wait for the water levels to rise and carry it down. 90% are gone due to logging and they didn’t realize they take forever to grow. They replaced by growing pine trees by 1920 (3rd largest import 25 years to mature and grown in the winter faster) and taken south. The gold amber resin, was used for many things by the Maori – mixed with animal fat to make ink for tattooing. The gold amber resin is highly flammable so it was used for torches but the smell of it was nice so also used as perfume. The Europeans didn’t know what to do with it until they sent it overseas which was then used for linoleum and varnishing. This was a good opportunity for work and a tons of Yugoslavians came over to work so now many Maori are blended with Yugoslavians.

-The remaining Kauri trees remain because they are too far they couldn’t get to them

-Kerikeri – meaning dig deep

-The northern area is also the fruit bowl of the North growing bamboo, kiwis, avocado and citrus

-Volcanic soil – ground very fertile in the north

-Not many earthquakes this far north but tsunami warnings and lots of dormant volcanoes. More power outages as opposed to flooding that Auckland received.

-Whangaroa (Funga-roa) – WH is pronounced F/PH

-The North population is 200000 (north of Auckland)

-Possums are pests in New Zealand with over 60 million of them. They came over during the trade from Australia. They eat the leaves off certain trees until there are none remaining thus killing the trees. Power posts are wrapped w metal so the Possums can’t climb and electrocute themselves. They make sweaters beanies and sock scarves from Possums mixed with merino wool.

Why did the possum cross the road – possum wanted to get to it’s flatmate.

A good possum is a flat possum.

-Mangonui (monga new ee) whaler town – whaling banned 1965. They came from Sydney.

02/20/23

Hole in the Rock

Day 3/3 for our tour up in Paihia. Final destination – A boat cruise through the Bay of Islands with Fuller Great Sights. We had Bronwyn as our Skipper and we had a lovely time.

We made friends with an older couple – Tom & Barbara from California. They worked for the government and now retired. They have travelled 34 countries. This is their 3rd time coming through New Zealand and they were about halfway through their current trip. They had come from Wellington to Rotorua up to Paihia and Auckland.

Started off chilly at 14°C but hit 22°C no problem and man the sun was a scorcher. I got a bit burnt but not as badly as some I have seen. The sun is no joke in Oceania.

We sailed by Moturoa island (2nd largest island in the Bay), Black rocks, Marsden cross (Rangihoua Bay), Assassination cove & Robertson Island (Motuarohia). Captain James Cook anchored the Endeavour off these islands when he visited and name this place the Bay of Islands in 1769.

We also sailed past Motukiekie, Otehei Bay, Urupukapuka Island, Waewartorea Island, Okahu Island, Cape Brett & Piercy island also known as the Hole in the Rock.

Ulu Pukapuka is the largest grouping of islands.

Bronwyn our skipper was skillfully able to navigate us through the hole in the rock.

Unfortunately the most we saw for animal species were some fish and some birds. Apparently there was a brisk sighting of a small penguin but he got shy.

We ported at Otehei Bay and given 2 hours to explore with the trails they had but also could take a dip in the water or eat at the cafe. After the walk up, we ate something quick before the boat came back to collect and return us to Paihia. I got the fish bites (13NZD)

The bus ride back to Auckland was longer than it needed as we had to detour due to an accident. We stayed in an Airbnb for the night in Flatbush called Flatbush Holiday Accommodation – right in the suburbs.

We walked over to the mall and had Melt Soul Food for dinner and we grabbed the lamb burger (22NZD), prawn and beer battered fish baos (20NZD) & calamari (12NZD).

It’s so crazy how clear the sky was on the walk back and the stars were popping. We also saw pink and purple hues in the sky.