We are now staying our 2nd night in Ahipara and had checked into the ‘Endless Summer’ hostel. 
It’s right across the beach and Dan & I have been enjoying a relaxing afternoon reading on the front lawn. Yesterday, we had arrived from Russell and had stayed at the Kiwi Holiday Park. We finally had a taste of the fresh meat pies from a bakery in nearby town called Kaitaia. We explored 90 mile beach, which wasn’t much of a sun-bathing type of beach, but you could drive your 4-wheel drive or quad up and down the strip. In fact, you could take the beach nearly all the way up to Cape Reinga. Our Nissan Pulsar wouldn’t be able to handle the sandunes (plus our insurance doesn’t cover that kind of off-roading), so we opted for the more civilized route this morning.
We woke up this morning to a blue sky and headed out to Cape Reinga via Motorway 1f. The drive was spotted with very small towns (like Elko, BC). The 2 hour drive up to Cape Reinga was worth it. 
The Maori people believe that this northernmost point is the gateway to the underworld. This is also the point where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. It was very peaceful when we had arrived and the view was pretty breathtaking. Our 360 degree view consisted of rolling hills in the south, giant sand dunes in the west, far off islands in the north and blue ocean in the east. Too bad we’re not allowed to eat or drink in that area, because it would have been a perfect place to have a picnic. In this photo, you can see the sand dunes off into the distance where you can go sand boarding. On the way up, several sandboard hires (aka sandboard rentals) dotted the highway.
The ride back was pretty uneventful, except for stopping for some packaged pies, which weren’t as good as the fresh ones we had savored yesterday. Just entering Ahipara, we also stopped by ‘Gumdigger’s Cafe’, where we took the time to write in our journals and I enjoyed my first latte of the vacation – nearly comparable to Cafe Rosso back home. 😉
Tomorrow will be our most ambitious drive yet. We’ve been averaging only 3 hour drives per day. Our drive tomorrow will hopefully take us to Hamilton (about 7.5 hours from Ahipara). Our next post will be from Rotorua in a couple of days or so.
Couple of notes, and few more pictures. First of all, we’ve slightly changed our plans, and will now most likely be spending the duration of our stay on the North Island, instead of trying to do both islands. This decision comes at the end of a long evening of much discussion with folks both local to NZ and those who have traveled here before. The discussion itself is the product of a “social” evening spent around the large table which lies under a leafy canopy, and behind the main building of the hostel in which we are staying. The output of our conversation, in addition to the decision to not push through to the south island, is a much-marked map with recommendations of places to go, things to do, and places to avoid. All input was that our time allotment would not permit a proper experience of anything other than the interior of our rental car, so in order to enjoy our time here we had better pace our stops appropriately. This said, our amended plan is to make our next stop in a region called Coromandel, which comprises the eastern peninsula south of Auckland.
The actual drive to Cape Reinga itself wasn’t nearly as bad as we had expected. We made good time, and there was only a small portion (perhaps a kilometer, or a little less) which was gravel roadway. It was windy and hilly – less so than the drive to Russell, but still enjoyable. After arriving (and checking out the aforementioned bikes) we went to check out the lighthouse. I’m very much enjoying the Hipstomatic app that Christina put on the iPod Touch, so have been using it almost exclusively to take my pictures. These are a couple that I took of the lighthouse.
Christina mentioned this, but our hostel is pretty awesome. It is RIGHT across the road from the beach. Here is what the view from our room looks like. Combined with the friendly vibe and small town feel, this could be the perfect spot to set up for a while. The problem is that it’s almost too small town. There’s really nothing to do here at all, which isn’t quite what I’m ready for yet…
It was great talking to the two of you last evening – and seeing you!!
We immediately went to google and toured around Ahipara, what they dubbed “the best place on earth” or something to that effect. I was going to make a couple of suggestions which you have figured out already! The first was not to set too rigorous a pace for yourselves and the second was to enjoy communal tables that lead into marvelous conversations with folks you might otherwise not have a chance to enjoy. You’re having a great start to your adventures!!!. We are enjoying colds temps and a light snowfall today – thinking of skiing tomorrow. xoxox
I’m seeing alot of iPhone esq photo edits…
yeah man, the Hipstamatic app for the iPod Touch we picked up started as my sidearm and is now my number one gun. It seems to strike the perfect balance between point-n-shoot pocketability, and cool looking pictures. Provided you don’t need prints at the end. That’s what Christina brought the Rebel for.
Blame it on Rob, he’s the one who introduced the Hipstamatic to Birka & me during our trip to Seattle. 😛
Like I said, living vicariously through you!!
Wow – love the pictures! Stunning!