L0p3z and Neno's Upside-Down Adventure: 420km road trip to the cape and back

After a full day of tourism on the Saturday we all needed a more relaxing Sunday. We headed to Kerikeri for a food and art market. The market had loads of local produce and some interesting bits to sample. I found a chilli sauce stall and had to try all of the options. Boyd found a few wine and port stalls so was quite happy. The find of the day was some Elephant Garlic flowers which are edible. The taste is a combination of garlic and onion but not too strong, great for a salad, or in a sandwich. We also explored the historical part of Kerikeri, the old stone house is the oldest stone building in New Zealand and is the start of a nice walk to some waterfalls. It was really hot so we headed back to the cabin for lunch and an afternoon relaxing.

Carol loves her elephant garlic flowers - Kerikeri market

Jumping out of the fountain - Kerikeri

Kerikeri Falls

Relaxing at Rainbow Falls - Kerikeri

Rainbow Falls - Kerikeri

The next day we were up and out early for the long drive to Cape Reinga in the Far North. We were kind and let Carol and Boyd stop for coffee along the way in Mangonui. Of course Carol managed to find some shops to look round. The scenery on the drive up to the cape is amazing, particularly when you are up in the hills and can see all the way to Parengarenga Harbour in the east. It's pretty remote this far north, mostly a few farms and a lot of national park land. Finally we arrived at Cape Reinga, the north westernmost tip of New Zealand, where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. The area has been developed a fair bit since either of us last visited. There is now a lot of information points along the path to the Lighthouse at the Cape. We practically ran down to it as a number of big tour buses arrived shortly after us and we wanted to get down there before the crowd, Boyd was oblivious to this as he was happily snapping away with his new camera permanently attached to his face.

Romantic lake photo - Mangonui

Cape Reinga Lighthouse

Dodgy photography by Carol, she cut the top of the sign post off

Where two oceans meet

A long way from home

After lunch we started the long drive south with a few stops planned along the way. The first stop off was the Te Paki sand dunes famous for being a gateway to 90 Mile beach and for sand boarding. I had a few runs with a hired board but was soon exhausted from clambering up and down the massive dunes. It was also very windy, to the extent that it actually hurt some of the time. The next stop was at the Ancient Kauri Kingdom workshop. This is a huge workshop and gallery for wood work with the Kauri trees. These massive trees are recovered from swamps, some being 45,000 years old, then turned into furniture and art work. The shop actually has a staircase carved into the centre of the trunk of one of these trees. Finally we returned to the cabin and settled down to a cold drink and some dinner.