Sweet As

Yep, I'm pretty much amazing at keeping a blog. Clearly I'm super on top of this. Nahh, I was too busy enjoying the beautiful Northlands! Travel the past three days has included a trip up to Bay of Islands, further up to Cape Reinga, and back down to Auckland. The trip up to Bay of Islands led us outside of the city and into the beautiful New Zealand countryside. And it was a countryside any other country would be jealous of - it was so *green*! After much thought, my fellow passengers and I decided it was a different green than in Canada - a much more neon green, possibly due to a lot of recent growth as a drought has just ended, but really cool nonetheless. The first stop was the at Tane Mahuta, Lord of the Forest and the oldest giant Kauri tree in New Zealand. Over 13m in circumference and 17m until the first branch, this grandfather tree was truly impressive, and a the songs of a Maori guide gave me some insight into its spiritual value for the Maori. After a lunch stop at a beautiful beach along the Tazman sea, I reached the Bay of Islands and toured the town and grabbed groceries via a seaside bike ride. After a swim and great dinner with my fellow passengers, we turned in with excitement our upcoming day trip!

I was able to experience more of the Kauri forest on our way to Cape Reinga, (pronounced with a lovely Kiwi accent). Cape Reinga, the North tip of New Zealand where the Tazman sea meets the Pacific, was far and away one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It combined the spiritual significance of being the place the Maori believe the dead left the world from, picturesque ocean, crashing waves, beaches and cliffs to take my breath away (but thankfully gave it back rather than turning it over to the other side!).  The lunch stop of the day was another beach, and after a lovely swim we saw some fins in the bay, low and behold, they were doll-fins (better known as dolphins)!! Next up was sandboarding, aka tobogganing down ridiculously steep sand dunes, and I had SO MUCH FUN!!! After a speedy cruise on the bus down a creek, along 90-mile beach and through many sleepy fishing villages, we made it home safe and sound.

 My final day in Cape Reinga started with a visit to the Waitangi treaty grounds where I got to hear the story of the Waitiangi treaty between the Maori and the British and see related historical icons. These icons included a world-record holding Maori canoe big enough for 150 warriors and a giant, ornately carved treaty house lodge. After seeing a fantastic cultural performance from a Maori art troop, I kayaked in the beautiful, sunny Bay of Islands. The water was lovely and the backdrop of volcanic islands and peaks was fantastic. I then headed back to Auckland for the night before continuing my journey.

Big Kahuna Mr. Tane Mahuta

Ship-shape boat 

Watch out for your breath!

Sandboarding not boring!!