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| Cape Reinga’s trails are both beautiful and easy. |
Cape Reinga technically isn’t New Zealand’s Northernmost point; by a scoch North Cape’s Surville Cliffs is, but Cape Reinga’s stunning views are more than reason enough to attract 120,000 visitors annually.
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| View gazing down the Tasman side off Cape Reinga, New Zealand. |
Truly, the day was epic.
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| Directional sign marking Cape Reinga mentioned Vancouver. Vancouver Washington? Err, maybe not, but it made me smile. |
Considering we didn’t even leave the Whangarei area until 10 am, it’s amazing just how much phenomenal and varied scenery we saw in one day.
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| Promontory on the Pacific side of Cape Reinga. If you can make out he pohutukawa tree on it, the Maori legends note those headed to the great beyond climb its roots to get there. |
Cape Reinga (aka Te Rerenga Wairua) is a site of dramatic transitions.
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| Tapotupotu Bay, viewed from Cape Reinga’s ridge, is the closest campsite to the cape. |
Cape Reinga’s lighthouse, built in 1941, offers a picturesque focal point. Sadly, it’s not set up for visitor viewing from the inside, though can walk up to and all around it.
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| Where the water goes white, it’s roiling with the violent meeting of the Tasman Sea and he Pacific ocean off Cape Reinga. |
I had a hard time tearing myself away.
Common sense and Wayne prevailed. To avoid setting up camp in the dark, we promptly made way for Spirits Bay for the night. A mere $6/person was an incredible bargain for a sweet spot to pitch our tent on the grass, under a pohutukawa tree. A stone’s throw away, nesting shags (cormorants) swayed over the river leading to the beach.
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| Nesting shag (cormorant) near our Spirits Bay campsite. |
As we were setting up our tent, a nice family camped nearby offered us some of the fish they caught that day and cooked. Given it was nearly dusk and we’re generally hopeless at fishing – when we actually drop a line – it was much appreciated. I tossed it into an avocado-tomato salad and returned the pan clean. I wish we’d had something to give in return besides a cleaned pan, though the gifting family seemed happy with just their pan.
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| Dusk descended rapidly at our Spirit Bay campsite near Cape Reinga, Northland, New Zealand. This was our view looking to the left from our tent. |
We ambled off to the beach, which then was growing dusky. After raucous Reinga, we were surprised to see two boats anchored offshore, though Spirit Bay was certainly calmer than Cape Reinga. One was a sailboat, which definitely rolled a bit. The other was a motor boat, anchored what for us would’ve been far too close to a reef. Still, we wished we were parked there; it was perfect weather and a great jump off to Brisbane, Australia. Of course, we’re headed elsewhere, first!
We were grateful that while our Department of Conservation (DOC) North Island campsite guidebook warned about the need for insect repellent, Spirit Bay was nearly bug free that night. There were just a few hardy mosquitoes about, but it was cool enough there wasn’t anything bite-worthy exposed. Still, here North is warmer, so at this more northerly spot, we were basking in the unseasonably nice fall “heat” compared to Whangarei.
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| This was our view looking to the right from our tent at dawn, Spirits Bay, near Cape Reinga, Northland, New Zealand. |
We slept blissfully well and awoke to as beautiful a dawn as the previous night’s dusk. Once again, as exploration-worthy as Spirits Bay is — including a coastline trail that connects to an overnight hut — more adventure and a trip back to our boat in Whangarei moved us to tarry only long enough to drink our coffee and break camp.
We feel grateful for these last incredible autumn days in Northland New Zealand. It begs revisiting.
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| Whangarei Town Basin, vibrant on a crisp, cool fall morning, Friday April 22, 2016. |
Sailing by the Numbers
