Northland: Day One Hundred and Sixteen - Morning (13 February)

We went on a tour today to the very top of the North Island, Cape Reinga, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea.

But first we visited the Ancient Kauri Kingdom. Kauri are amazingly old trees (some 45,000 years old!), which are native to New Zealand. Because they are so tall and straight, they were very popular for making ship's masts and became endangered. The remaining forests are now protected.

You cannot visit Northland without driving through the surf at Ninety Mile Beach (which is still called that even though New Zealanders use metric measurements), although you have to be on an authorised tour to do it. I was lucky because I got to sit right at the front of the coach with a fabulous view :-).


Then we went sand-surfing on the dunes at the beach's end. Very exciting!


Barnaby