To the north!: Sunrise, Cape Reinga, Ninety Mile Beach

My alarm went off at 6am Tuesday morning. Got out of bed at 6:30 to walk up the hill with three others to watch the sun rise over the bay. I was tired and hungry, but peacefully watching the sun rise for an hour was a wonderful start to the day. So pleased.

We ate two breakfasts (didn't think Shirley was going to feed us but she did) and then got on our way to Cape Reinga. On the way there it stormed so we were worried that the weather would be bad, but by the time we got there it was beautiful and sunny and warm with a breeze. Also, whoever said that the North Island of New Zealand isn't beautiful clearly hasn't had their eyes open, nor been to the Northland. Rolling greens hills that literally look enhanced because they're so naturally green and ocean and beaches all around you.. the North Island is wonderful.

this is not even phototouched. it really is this green.

go team!

Cape Reinga is where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet. You can actually see the tides colliding, which is pretty cool. The Maori believe it is where the male sea Te Moana Tapokopoko a Tawhaki meets the male sea Te Tai o Whitireia. (Cape Reinga is a significant place for the Maori so there are facts about the significance all around it.) It is really beautiful though. We walked around the beaten grass paths towards the ocean and to the lighthouse. We even managed to take a human pyramid picture on a self-timed camera.
We stayed at Cape Reinga for longer than we had intended, so we left and drove to Ninety Mile Beach. We decided not to drive our minivan to & on the beach - great decision, we would have basically had to drive in a stream. I don't know if the massive sand dunes we played on are actually considered a part of Ninety Mile Beach, but we could see the ocean so who cares? The sand dunes were MASSIVE. We rolled down them, ran down them, ran and jumped down them, buried people in the sand.. it was so much fun. I felt like I was in the desert because when I was sitting, all I could see was sand.

cows on the road..?

We'd decided to drive back to Auckland that night instead of sleep in the car, so we made the six-hour drive to Auckland - with only a minor stop on a logging road that was barricaded by a tree while trying to see the sunset on the beach. I played DJ for the majority of the drive which was extraordinarily fun picking out music to listen to - some highlights were "The General", "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Defying Gravity".

We got back to Auckland around midnight and I was dropped off at PSV, where I was so overjoyed to take a shower (it had been three days and by that point I was completely covered in mud, sand, and sweat.. mmm tasty) and sleep in a bed that didn't have massive spiderwebs within three feet of it. Such a great night's sleep.