Before I head to Canada on a two year working holiday visa I want to see more of Aotearoa. Last weekend I decided to go up north to Cape Reinga with a friend exploring Northland. The Beauty of the northern region is a wonder itself!

The Trip to the cape from Auckland is a very scenic route which is a pleasure to drive on a sunny day. We went along at a nice pace driving through very short occasional showers with a planned stop at Paihia in the Bay of Islands for a break. As it turned out we did a bit of random shopping purchasing gifts from the Cabbage Tree store in town. I ended up buying a Manaia pounamu (carved by Colin Bennett www.carving.co.nz/bennett.html) for myself. I spoke to the friendly staff member where I could get it blessed by a local she suggested that I take it to the ocean to bless it myself with a prayer. I liked this idea. My friend also bought a pounamu for a friend and could bless his as well. We were delighted by the information from the store assistant then carried on with our journey.
 
The next planned stop we made was an excellent choice. We decided to stop to watch the North Harbour versus Wellington match at the Houhora Tavern. The Establishment is over 100 years old & is the most northern pub in the country. The locals were very friendly (even to us jafa’s) the prices were very fair. We let the rain pass over whilst we watched Harbour go down. Thanked the barman that he let us watch the game instead of the races then carried on.
 
We were wondering if we spent too long at the Tavern to make it back to Auckland before midnight. (I turn into a pumpkin you see) We decided not to drive along ninety mile beach to take the sometimes loose metal road to Cape Reinga. It is a breathtaking view once you get out of the car to walk to the surprise at the top of the country. As you could imagine it is very windy so it was a good idea to take our jackets for the trip. You also don’t have to spend much time when you get there. We were lucky as it was late so we could take our photos with virtually no one around. This was the second time I’ve been there it was still as magical as the first time.
 
As we drove back to Te Paki we had a blonde moment of hoping not to run out of gas. Pulled up to the only gas station to be met with a cute kid saying “we’re closed” (gulp) After a moments panic Dad poked his head out asking if we needed gas (whew!) This saved us as there are not many gas stations open late on a Saturday night in the area as it turned out. We really wanted to bless our gifts so we decided to take the short trip out to Spirits Bay to make our blessing. We were so lucky to arrive before sunset then make our way out to the incoming tide. It is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life. We had the beach to ourselves and I wore my pounamu for the first time after the prayer.
 
After driving back towards Kaitaia to take SH1 home we stopped for dinner at another local pub. The local barman told us his Kitchen closed at 8pm but then offered free pies & sandwiches that were left over. The locals on the tall barstools watched as we grabbed a food item. They all made us feel at home which out a nice touch on our journey.
 
Driving back to Auckland on a night drive was on the cards so we thought to stop for the last time at Whangarei for a snack and a rest.  Then we pressed on home with 850km to show for the day. We were very happy to have accomplished a lot of sightseeing through beautiful Northland. I was most pleased by the friendliness of the locals (outside of Auckland) with the main highlight being the special (spontaneous) present of New Zealand culture. I recommend that if you haven’t made the trip up North to plan to do so with a nice “sunny” couple of days.