Monday's adventures

[byslantedlight]

I was all set to post as I went along today - only to find that the very Northlands wasn't giving me internet. Waah! Oh well, let's see what I can do in the traditional way before I go to bed... *g*

I set off nice and early, because Cape Reinga is about three hours from Paihia, and I thought I might want to stop at places on the way too. In the end I did that on the way back, and it worked really well. So I headed north, again with no view of the sea, but rounded hills, the most winding road I've been on over some mountains (and I've driven over mountains in Greece) - this was like a slalom! Past the most gorgeous red trees, and wild turkeys! Which I couldn't stop to take photos of, unfortunately, but I promise - wild turkeys! I hadn't been expecting them... *g*

My trip this year is all about oceans meeting! At Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia it was where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean. Today at Cape Reinga, by the lighthouse, it was where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. I'm not sure I've ever seen the place where seas meet before, and now twice in one trip. *g* See the waves going in two different directions, towards each other? How cool is that! Not to mention how spectacular the views were in general.



Cape Reinga is also a sacred Maori place - it's where the spirits of the dead travel to, to begin their journey to their next homeland. The first picture captures what it looked like best - colours and all.

The back down southwards again, accidentally past the giant sand dunes that I meant to stop and see, but that worked out for the best. Next I managed to find Ninety Mile Beach (and more to the point, my car survived the gravelled road getting there!) This is one of the places I knew about as a kid, and always wanted to see. Now I have - and it was completely worth it.



I didn't drive down it, because you're not allowed to with hire cars, but I walked out onto it, and looked in both directions, and... yes. Totally worth it. *g*

Further south, bound for the Kauri Gumdiggers Historical Camp, which was actually an ancient Kauri forest that was flattened by some catastrophic event, and eventually it produced gum, which could be used for all kinds of things, and turned into a massive industry (mostly to supply England). There were old huts and things there, and lots of manuka trees - aka teatrees, which I hadn't realised! So Manuka honey is actually made from teatrees, which amazes me... *g* Such a versatile plant!




Finally - here's what a kauri tree looks like when it's made into something else - I stopped at Kauri Unearthed on my way back next. It's basically a shop, but it has this in it... A whole entire staircase in a tree! Not a small one either, it was perfectly roomy to walk up and down it...



Just beautiful, I thought... And the kauri wood they used there has been dated to 45,000 years ago...

And that's surely enough pictures, because now it's late and it's bedtime (and tonight I'm sharing with two nice girls, but one of them is... well, let's say a little manic... *g*

Comments

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Wow, some absolutely gorgeous photos! Ninety Mile Beach looks almost unearthly. And the stairwell! Truly amazing.

Are the wild turkeys indigenous? We see them around here from time to time. One time an entire family, mother, father, and ten offspring, decided to explore our back yard. The dogs were going crazy at the door.

On another note, having been in a car that you're driving, I think I would have gotten out and walked on the slalom. *g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you - and Ninety Mile Beach did seem rather unearthly - good description!

I gather the turkeys were domestic ones that were released or escaped and bred - since the 1860s, according to one website. I think they're only indigenous in the Americas, aren't they? Odd things!

And ha - slander! It wasn't my fault that there were lots of small roads in southwest England, and that you don't like them! I'm a perfectly competent driver of small roads, thank you very much! *g* And the slalom was fun... *vbg*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I thought turkeys were indigenous to America, but I didn't know if it was some other bird that they had slapped the name on, or, as you say, some taken over that escaped.

Lol, I have to admit my aversion to twisty, small roads after a 100 foot tumble off of a mountain road. I never could have managed the slalom!

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

You have confirmed my suspicions that this is actually heaven on earth, or the nearest thing to such :-s I had no idea that you could actually see the prevailing waves going in opposite directions in these places where the oceans meet - I guess I just thought of them as humans divvying up names for the convenience of their maps, nothing more! Consider my mind officially blown (even more than usual!). And a staircase inside a tree ... if ever I thought a place could be alive with magic, I reckon you must be visiting it right now. Purely wonderful.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It really does seem pretty heavenly! And yes - how fab are those waves?! *vbg*

Never mind the staircase in a tree - I'm off to Hobbiton tomorrow! *vvvbg*

[siskiou.livejournal.com]

It's surely *not* enough pictures! *g*

How wonderful is that staircase in the tree, and the oceans meeting, and the 90 mile beach?!

I was in NZ over 30 years ago. I think it's time for another visit! If only!

Enjoy your time, and post as many pictures as you feel like.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee - well, I've posted two more smaller sets since this one, so... *g*

I think you'd love NZ as much now as you did then - it really is pretty gorgeous. I know it's got problems to, but there does seem to be a better attitude of fixing them, somehow...

And thanks! I posted a few more yesterday, as it happens... *vbg*

[milomaus.livejournal.com]

Wonderful fotos! Please show more! They are wonderful!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *vbg* I posted some more yesterday, but I don't think anyone's seen them yet... *g*

[loxleyprince.livejournal.com]

Gosh! Those Kauri trees are seriously big. The grain is beautiful. I guess it must be very hard if they can carve a staircase into it. Fabulous beaches too!

[miwahni.livejournal.com]

Beautiful! I love NZ. There's often talk (half-joking) about NZ becoming a state of Australia (they were actually invited to, at the time of Federation, but declined) and I don't ever want to see it happen. It's such a beautiful place, and if it became part of Oz there'd be open mines and all sorts defiling the landscape all over!
I was hoping to make it to Cape Reingi on my last trip but didn't get further north than Paihia. I would have liked to see the two seas meeting. I've stood on the beach in Skagen, Denmark, where the Baltic Sea and the North Sea meet, and that felt pretty amazing.