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New Zealand >
Northland > Cape
Reinga
The
Most Northern Point of New Zealand.
 Well,
not quite! The real top is Kerr
Point, near North Cape, but in the
eyes of New Zealand, Cape Reinga is
the northern-most tip of our
beautiful country.
The top is a special place for us
kiwis, with the old lighthouse,
that creates a delightful photo opportunity.
This
place holds much spiritual and
cultural significance. The story,
which goes with Cape Reinga, is... The
Pohutukawa tree is the Reinga,
"The place of Leaping",
where the spirits of the dead jump
off the edge and climb down the roots
of the old tree, and descend into the
underworld to return to their
original home land of Hawaiki.
It
is an amazing place where you can
see the Pacific and the Tasman coming
together in a clash of white waves.
The wind blows and the sun shines
brightly, and if you look to the
right of the lighthouse, you can see
the small bay, which no one is
allowed to walk on. It is sandy, and
no footprints are engraved on it,
which is a nice sight, although it is
very tempting to go down and have
your own secret cove!
The
air is salty and cool, and depending
what time of year you visit may be
quite chilly! There are toilet
facilities, and parking available
here, and you will probably see a few
tour buses arriving regularly. This
is a very popular spot, because of
its magic and history, and the fact
it is the end of New Zealand. It is
great for a picnic on a nice day, and
has marvelous views, and some great
stories from the tour guides, if you
choose this option.
This
part of the North Island is filled
with amazing places and the natural
beauty is breath taking. There is
nowhere else like it, and it is clean
and unpolluted.
There
isn’t much else there apart from
the lighthouse to look at, but the
views are spectacular, and it’s
quite high up. The oceans coming
together is an amazing sight to
witness, and there’s not many
places you can go to see that! You
can see how the currents work, and
there is a long line of the white
waves that marks the spot of
convergence.
Northland
holds many of New Zealand’s
treasures, and is a very spiritual
place. There is so much energy and
vibrancy here, that you have to be
there to feel it. It is a great place
to re-energise, breathe fresh, clean
air and feel at peace.
The
roads to and from Cape Reinga are
pretty good (apart from the last 17kms which should
be sealed in 2008), and are made for tour
buses and the like, watch out for them they travel
faster than most drivers dare on the rough. There are loads
of tours which go up here, and most
of them do a cruise from 90 mile
beach, and you can jump in the bus
and go all the way up the beach on
the sand, and then go for a bumpy
ride up the sandy creek. There are
also a couple of tours that do sand
surfing, which is a lot of fun scooting down the
huge sand dunes and if you have the time, there are
several good camping areas and walkways so that you
get to know the area in detail, but you need a mozzi
net in summer.
Contributor: Jessica
Lloyd
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