We made it to the top of NZAug 17, 2007
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What a difference a day makes in the weather
Beautiful beach
A few extra water hazzards on the course
NZ is actually quite large. We are staying quite far north near Matauri Bay. From here to the northern tip would look close on a map but it is a bit of a journey. We jumped into the car and started off. The scenery of the North Island is beautiful. It looks like a complete cross between BC and Scotland. Either there are vast rolling grass covered hills or dense temperate rain forest where tress look like they have never been cut down. The towns are few and far between in the North and none really have any size. Our trek took us to the end of the paved roads of New Zealand. The last 21 km is a gravel track. We probably were not supposed to take the rental car here but we made it this far so we did it. The view from the tip was great. Off one side, the Pacific Ocean - large and endless. To the other side, the Tasman sea - the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand. When people describe that the two bodies of water "Crash" together at Cape Reinga, they are speaking literally. You can see the waves moving together and crashing in the middle. The cape also has your required lighthouse. It is no longer manned but still shines out its light to keep those boats that arrive from China from crashing into New Zealand.
New Zealand also has this absolutely huge beach - It's called 90 mile beach. It is pretty long and might actually be 90 miles. The sand is so compacted that during low tide, it is possible to drive it. Rental car (and likely most insurance policies) exclude driving on the beach. However, there are tour companies that do it and some people bring out their 4x4's. It would be pretty easy - but you don't want to stop since at +/- 2 hours of high tide - the beach is covered by the ocean!!! You don't want this. We are so glad that we did the drive today - but it is clear that Darren really wants to play golf. That night another 30 guests arrived at the hotel. Showing how some people live in different worlds - most of them arrived by helicopter. Darren met a couple of them and they invited him to play golf with them the next day - - - He quickly accepted and was happy to go. Since we knew the staff pretty well - Darren got a giant double portion of lamb rack for his dinner - - - - what a great way to end a good day.
