Exceptional Travel Writing
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 Photo: Gareth Eyres (www.exposure.co.nz) |
At
the very tip of the peninsula is Cape Reinga, the most spiritually significant
part of New Zealand to the Maori. Reinga means "underworld"
and it is from here that the spirits of the dead slide down the roots
of the pohutukawa tree into the ocean. They climb out on Ohana Rock,
which is visible from the cape on a clear day. The spirits then bid
their last farewell from this rock before returning to the ancestral
land of Hawaiki.
Cape Reinga's clifftop lighthouse overlooks the turbulent, crisscrossing
tides where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet. The cape is accessible
via road and private car, but if you relax and take the bus you will
have the thrill of driving to or from the cape along the Te Paki Quicksand
Stream, which is part of the semi-lunar Ninety Mile Beach, actually
only 90 kilometers long. Private car insurance becomes invalid if you
are foolhardy enough to try and negotiate this dangerous stretch of
beach yourself. The odd fender sticking out of the sand is testimony
to human folly.
| The coastal settlement of Ahipara sits at the beginning of the Ninety Mile Beach, the only beach in New Zealand that is also a road. If your vehicle is suitable, you can drive along the sand to a point just south of Cape Maria van Diemen. The sunsets are spectacular in this area, because the coast faces west. |
The
bus trip from Cape Reinga will take you all the way back to Russell
on the east coast, the capital of New Zealand in the early 19th-century
when it was known as the "hellhole of the Pacific," notorious
for its sleazy grog shops and brothels. Today it's a sleepy, idyllic
little town of 900 souls, famous as the jumping off point for the Bay
of Islands, which American novelist Zane Grey dubbed "an angler's
El Dorado."
For fishermen, yachtsmen and scuba divers a visit to the Bay of Islands
is a must. There are nearly 150 islands, scattered in clear, blue waters,
with secluded bays, sandy beaches and very few people.
Keen scuba divers will want to visit the Poor Knight Islands, 24 kilometers
off the coast at Whangerai (pronounced "Fongeray"), 60 kilometers
south east of Russell. The Poor Knights are part of a marine reserve
that protects the sub-tropical fish and other unique marine life living
in these waters.
A flow of warm water called the South Equatorial Current sweeps down
the east coast of Australia and then wanders across to New Zealand as
the Tasman Current. The northern part rounds Cape Reinga and flows down
the east coast. It bathes the offshore islands but not the coastline
itself. So the Poor Knight Islands have a distinctly sub-tropical flavor
to their fauna.
These representatives from warmer waters include the exquisite diadema
sea urchin, banded coral shrimp, firebrick starfish and many fish including
the mosaic moray, assorted gropers, long-finned boarfish, lizard fish,
blue drummer, green pufferfish, yellowbanded perch and green and orange
wrasses.
Underwater visibility in the Poor Knights is truly incredible, sometimes
as much as 200 feet (65 meters) during late summer to early winter.
The islands are volcanic in origin and considerably eroded. The consequent
labyrinth of caves, tunnels and arches provide a haven for marine life
and a paradise for divers.
But, "What's in a name?" asked Shakespeare.
For the Poor Knights are very rich indeed in attractions for the visiting
diver and a shining gem in New Zealand's crown known as the "Northland."
UP
NORTH, DOWN UNDER: THE NORTHLAND, NEW ZEALAND
was first published by The Sunday News
