The Far North

Until a couple of years ago I would drive my visitors roughly (in distance but some might say my driving) 4 hours north to the lighthouse at the northerly most tip of New Zealand.  I'd give them a glimpse of 90 Mile Beach on the West Coast and visit a few of the beautiful East Coast Beaches, looking down my nose a bit at the poor tourists in their big buses who couldn't stop to take photos whenever they chose.  

Then the day came when I wanted to take two grandchildren there and I couldn't face all that driving so I booked us on one of those buses.  Now I'd never do the trip any other way, I tell anyone who will listen what a wonderful experience it is to travel with Harrisons, the Kaitaia local bus company.  Their driver/guides are local Maori men who love their land and know their culture and history and delight in sharing it.  They also know the west coast beach which can be as treacherous as it is beautiful, and can navigate it safely. 

When I made the trip last week with my sisters, the tide was rushing in leaving only a narrow strip of sand 'road' and the driver was in a hurry to get safely past the Bluff, the only rocky outcrop along the full length of the beach.  No time for photos.  Ah well.  I'd left my camera behind and only had my phone anyway.

The bus slowed to give us a look at a long dead whale that had been washed up onto the beach in recent rough weather. The whiff of it from inside the bus was enough to keep us happy to keep moving.

We finally got out to stretch our legs when we reached Te Paki Stream where the bus leaves the beach and the driver felt safe from the incoming tide. 

Which way to point the camera?

Looking up Te Paki Stream and the sand dunes

There was very little water in Te Paki Stream, so most people who took part in the dune riding didn't get very wet when they reached the bottom.  

There were a number of Chinese children on our bus and they had a delightful time on the Beginners Slope.  You can see from the footprints in the sand that a few of them got braver after a few short slides and ventured to the top.

Before heading to the lighthouse we had a light lunch under the trees at Tapotupoto Bay.  A few hardy souls went for a swim. Harisons have a fleet of powerful all terrain 4 x 4 truck to bus conversions.  There is another one in the background.  I was delighted to see they had three busloads going to the cape that day as when I went last in September there were no tourists around and they weren't running but being the amazing company they are, they ran a small bus for my niece and me and a young English couple.  

I was happy to photograph my sisters walking down to the lighthouse.

While I was taking a photo of the flax flowers I overheard a man telling someone about harakeke and it took me a while to remember that is the Maori word for it. It is endemic to New Zealand and had played an important part in the history of both the Maori people and European settlers.