The Far North, NZ

Driving Part 2

The theme of my past several days has been driving on questionable roads. I can safely say that I’m used to driving on the left side of the road, with the wheel on the right. In fact, I even think about the routes I drove back home and instinctively imagine them on the left side. It’s amazing how quickly your mind can adjust! It also helps that I’ve driven hundreds of miles. 

As I was leaving the Bay of Islands area, and driving far north, I passed through a little town where policemen were standing in the middle of the roads and speaking with drivers as they were passing by. Not sure what to expect, I rolled my window down when I got close to them. The policeman wished me a happy holidays, urged me to drive safe, and gave me a bottle of water for the road. It was a sweet gesture!

I saw many signs throughout my drives about driving safe. I now understand why everyone is so keen road safety. When outside the major cities, it is mostly two lane roads everywhere. When you come across a bridge, it is one lane only, and one side has to give way. To make matters worse, I drove on one road where you couldn’t even see the end of the bridge because it was around a corner, so you just have to hope that both sides are not driving at the same time. It’s terrifying!

Apart from one-lane roads, they are also curvy, and you are constantly driving up and down hills. The speed limit on many of these highways is much too high (100 km/h or 62 mi/h) and many people like to speed along. I am constantly pulling over and letting people pass me. 

I’m also annoyed at Google Maps, which always directs me to the fastest route. This is normally fine, except it has taken me on several dirt roads that are a struggle for my car. So curvy roads, one-lane bridges, fast drivers, and unpaved ground; not my favorite combination. I’m reluctant to use Google Maps now, and have been using an app called Sygic that works offline using your phone’s GPS. It sticks to paved roads, thankfully.

Cape Reigna

I drove as far north as I could go in New Zealand, to a place called Cape Reigna, on which there is a lighthouse. From here, you can see a spot in the ocean where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide. I’ve never seen waves crashing into each other in the middle of a body of water like that; it was breathtaking.

There’s something about waves that I cannot resist. I sat there for the longest time watching them and staring in the distance, into the vast nothingness. Apart from small Pacific islands, there’s pretty much nothing north until Fiji, or Hawaii, and you really have that edge-of-the-world feeling. The Māori view this area as a jumping off point for departed souls into their next spiritual journey. The cape is windy and the waves on the beach are strong. It is hauntingly beautiful.

After Cape Reigna, I headed to stay in my first hostel. There were a lot of people staying there the night, and I had a bunk bed in a four-bed female dorm. Both of the bottom bunks were taken so I took one of the top bunks. Unfortunately there were no ladders to get to the top bunks, and despite my amazing acrobatic skills, I was unable to get up. I asked for a stepping stool, but all they had were bigger ladders, so that’s what I got. I felt silly but I don’t know how people manage to get to the top bunk without a ladder. 

One of my roommates was a Bulgarian girl who was traveling around New Zealand on on a working holiday, and doing various hikes. She gave me some suggestions on parks to explore and I enjoyed chatting with her. She was quite tired and wanted to sleep, as did I, but the social area next to our room was particularly noisy. Luckily I had ear plugs and an eye mask to the rescue!

Hokianga Harbour

The next day I made my way south to a town called Omapere. This town sits on the Hokianga Harbour, which is a charming, yet rugged landscape that feels remote and removed from mainstream life. On the way, I stopped by a park, Wairere Boulders Nature Park, that had massive basalt rock formations. The short hike was well labeled with directions and signs describing the plants and trees in the vicinity.

After the hike, I drove to the ferry landing to go over Hokianga Harbour; the fastest way to get to Omapere. This was a pretty cool experience, despite waiting for a long time for the ferry to arrive. 

I realized during this time that I had forgotten my trail shoes at the hostel I stayed at the night before. Not only that, but I had left my passport laying around somewhere, and thankfully the woman from the front desk gave it to me before I left. I felt like such a mess. I called asking if my shoes were there, but they were gone. It was disappointing; I had just bought these shoes for the trip and spent a long time picking out the perfect pair. You could probably argue that I brought too many shoes on this trip; I had sandals, flip flops, sneakers for city walking, waterproof hiking boots, and trail shoes. I was prepared for all kinds of walking/hiking trips. I guess I’ll be wearing my hiking boots from now on.

My night’s stay was in a cool hostel up on a hill, where you could see the water. This hostel was quiet and much more comfortable than my previous night’s experience. I made sure to leave nothing behind this time. 

Waipoua Forest

The next day I drove to Waipoua Forest to see the majestic kauri trees, native to New Zealand. They are huge trees, rivaling the volume of Sequoia trees in the US.

All hiking trails included washing stations to prevent the spread of the kauri dieback disease. Some of these stations were quite sophisticated. 

In one of the walking paths, I felt as if I was tramping through a tropical rainforest. It was wet and lush green, with lots of insect sounds. But the nice thing about New Zealand is that there are no predators, so unlike other rainforests, I don’t need to worry about snakes, spiders the size of my head, and sneaky felines. 

I stopped by the famous Tāne Mahuta, which is the largest kauri tree in New Zealand, and the third largest tree in the world. It was enormous and stunning! The surrounding park was serene and I enjoyed seeing more large kauri trees.

Karekare

After the Waipoua forest, I drove for almost three hours to make it back down to Auckland before sunset. I had several hours to kill before darkness, so I drove to a place called Karekare nature reserve.

I was chasing a waterfall that I saw pictures of in this area, and it did not disappoint. On my way back to my car, I saw a path to the beach so I wandered in that direction. As I got closer to the beach and away from forest, I saw lots of exquisite plants, including wild peas! 

After about 15 minutes, I finally got to the beach, and it was a black sand beach. I’ve only ever seen this kind of sand in Iceland before, and it was gorgeous. The seashells were huge, and the crashing waves were loud. There was practically nobody around for me to see and it was eerie, but I loved it.

Having successfully explored the farthest northern area of New Zealand, I was ready to see the rest of North Island. I’ve spent many hours driving, and not necessarily seeing as much as I would like to. My unplanned traveling worked out pretty well in the first two weeks, but as I was approaching Christmas time, lodging was becoming sparse. I was thankfully able to find somewhere to live for the holidays. I’m more conscious of my belongings now, and finding accomodations during peak times.

Until next time, wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

-Anastasia