Sand dunes and the end of the world

Today I’m back on track, after a brief sojourn around some rather scenic toilets. By back on track, I am referring to the tale of my trip around Northland – the most northerly part of New Zealand’s north island.

Unimaginative name aside, this is a spectacular place. Stretching out above Auckland far into the Pacific and Tasman seas, this tip of land is home to massive Kauri forests, volcano remnants, sunken ships, enormous sand dunes and the spiritual end of the world.

In my previous post on the subject, I talked about the last surviving pockets of Kauri forest, where massive and ancient trees cling onto life. Today I’m moving further north, to the sand dunes of Te Paki, and the very far tip of Northland – Cape Reinga – where a very different type of tree clings on to life.

Sand dunes of Te Paki

Sand dunes appear to be a common theme at the tip of New Zealand’s islands. The south island had the spectacular dunes of the Farewell Spit. The North Island has Te Paki.

Situated at the end of the ninety mile beach (classified as a state highway, you’ve got to love New Zealand) Te Paki’s dunes certainly win when it comes to size. These immense golden monsters rise steeply out of the surrounding vegetation, and convey the somewhat disturbing feeling that you have become a being of ant like proportions.

Of course, this gigantic size has all sorts of benefits. First of all, just wandering around these dunes is fun. You can walk up them, and run down them. It’s dizzying stuff. Or, you can lose yourself completely, grab what appears to be a modified bit of plywood, and hurl yourself down them.

Whatever your particular pleasure, the Te Paki sand dunes are guaranteed to give you a good time. Even if you are just taking pictures.

Cape Reinga – the end of the world

Further north from Te Paki, and in fact, about as far north as you can go, is Cape Reinga. Cape Reinga is not actually the most northern point of New Zealand’s north island. That honour belongs to the Surville Cliffs, some 30km to the east. However, they don’t have a handy road and car park for access, so for most people, Cape Reinga is north enough.

Cape Reinga is notable for a few things. First off, it has a rather fine example of a lighthouse. Regular readers will no doubt be aware of the importance of a good lighthouse popping up in my travels from time to time. Along with the lighthouse there is one of those handy signs that tells you quite how far away from everywhere else you are. When in New Zealand, you are generally a long way from pretty much everything else. Being at the far north makes very little difference.

As well as the lighthouse and the sign, Cape Reinga is where the Tasman and Pacific seas meet, clashing together as far as the eye can see.

And finally, to the Maori people of New Zealand, Cape Reinga is of tremendous spiritual significance. Because it is here that the spirits of the dead are believed to leave this world, and move on to the next – Reinga being the Maori word for underworld.

There is a tree, clinging improbably to the cliffs at the tip of Cape Reinga. It is lashed remorselessly by the sea. It has been clinging on in this fashion for over eight hundred years. And it is down the roots of this tree that the spirits of the dead climb as they descend to the underworld. Spine tingling stuff.

Around Cape Reinga there is endless scope for exploration. There are walks along spectacular beaches, such as the 12km long Spirits Bay at the other end of the Aupouri peninsula, of which Cape Reinga is the western end. There are camping spots galore, and, this being the warmest part of New Zealand, this part of the world is good to visit at any time of the year. We were there in winter, and as you can see from the photos, it was still happily warm.

Wrapping up our tale of north land will be our trip down its eastern coast, past bays of islands, a number of waterfalls (including New Zealand’s most photographed waterfall specimen) and, no doubt, musings on the weather, which was universally damp for that part of the trip. Until then.

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Ancient trees of New Zealand’s far north

Coming, as I do, from the northern hemisphere (well, partly at least) – a place with the name “Northland” conjures up images of icy pinnacles and wind swept glaciers. A place where frost rimmed yaks roam frozen wastelands, and explorers battle immense hardship to conquer peaks.

For New Zealanders however, the further North one goes, the warmer it gets. And the warmest place of them all is the far flung tip of the North island, stretching from Auckland up to Cape Reinga, where instead of snow and ice, one finds pure white sandy beaches, enormous sand dunes, towering ancient trees, and bays full of islands.

We spent a few days touring this region – which has to be one of the finest areas to spend a Kiwi winter. The temperatures remain a happy distance from the sub zeroes we encountered down on the South Island, and the variety of scenery on offer is truly wonderful. Today I want to talk specifically about the mighty Kauri forests of this region, home to some of the worlds most ancient trees.

The Kauri forests

New Zealand’s northland is the only place in the world where the New Zealand Kauri tree can be found. These mighty trees are amongst the most ancient in the world, and specimens surviving today are thought to be up to 4000 years old.

Four thousand years is a very long time for a tree to have been around, particularly given man's penchant for destruction, so visiting these trees, found in small pockets of preserved forest, is an absolute must.

There are a large number of Kauri trees to marvel at, but two stand out giants remain, last of the surviving ancient trees. Others, supposedly larger, were destroyed, either by man or natural events such as forest fires.

The largest survivor today is Tāne Mahuta – the “Lord of the Forest”. An epic name for an epic tree. This chap currently rocks out at around 42 metres in height, with a diameter of five metres and a girth of fifteen and a half metres. Numbers aside – this is a tree which truly dominates his surroundings, wearing his title with dignity. It’s hard not to be just awed when looking at the majesty that is this tree.

Next up, in the mighty tree stakes, is Te Matua Ngahere – the “Father of the forest”. Again, a name which this tree wears with grandeur. Whilst not quiet as high as Tane Mahuta, Te Matua is believed to be the oldest living Kaori tree, and possibly the oldest rainforest tree in the world, at up to 4000 years old. He sits on a massive trunk nearly five and a half metres wide and sixteen and a half metres in girth, with a total height of nearly forty metres. Boggling stuff.

There are, of course, a number of other truly epic looking trees to marvel at in this area, but none of them come close to the sheer majesty that these two trees offer.

I have seen other, much taller trees, in my travels, including trees in Tasmania that top out at close to a hundred metres in height. Those trees however do not seem to carry with them the weight of ages past that the Lord and Father of the forest bear, nor the sheer immensity of trunk that just defies the mind.

The Kauri forests, for visiting purposes, are on the western coast of New Zealand’s Northland, and there are many more trees than the two mentioned here. All are easily accessible via forest paths, and there is an excellent visitor information centre with all sorts of knowledge on these behemoths. Then, if you want even more knowledge, a visit to the Kauri museum in Matakohe has a wealth of knowledge on mans relationship with these trees.

So those were the Kauri forests. Absolutely worth taking the time to visit. Next in Northland I’ll be talking about the giant sand dunes of Te Paki, and the spiritual tip of New Zealand: Cape Reinga.