19 Sept - Cape Reinga

This was basically a driving day, at 350 probably the greatest kilometrage we will put in this trip. After a short last walk around Aroha we headed out. As we went out the gravel access road, Aroha gave us one last bird: the banded rail. Then we were off to visit Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of land in New Zealand.

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More or less on a whim we stopped in Mangonui, a fishing village on Doubtless Bay. There we saw more dolphins playing in the boat harbor, and found a local market going on in the community hall.

We bought local jam and olive oil and kept going.

Cape Reinga is at the top of a 100 kilometer peninsula and as we headed north the clouds began to turn into thick overcast. At the cape itself there was a thick sea-fog forming and blowing up over the hills. The "stunning seascapes" the guidebook promised were pretty much hidden, as were the offshore islands we were supposed to admire.

In Maori legend, after you die, you walk to Cape Reinga and on into the sea to join your ancestors. On the way, you are said to climb down the roots of this lonely pohutakawa tree.

At the tip of the cape there is a cute little lighthouse.

We helped two Japanese girls take a picture of themselves and they did the same for us.

Of course there is a signpost to the world's cities, and of course you have to take a picture. It's a touristical duty.

Hmmm, L.A. only 5700 miles?

From the cape we drove south through light rain (the first rain of the trip) to a commercial campground in the resort town of Ahipara where we settled in for a positive frenzy of internetting.