Te Paki Sand Dunes

There was one more cool place to stop on the peninsula, the Te Paki creek and sand dunes. The Te Paki creek carved its way along the edge of the sanddunes. Walking up on top was surreal, like you were in another world. The wind was making the clouds fly over the dunes, with their shadow sweeping up and down the sandy slopes. It looked as if time was distorted. These dunes were not at all like the ones in Holland, which only straddle the beaches. These dunes were a few kilometers wide and as long as the eye could see. They eclipsed the Cooloola Sandblow that we hiked in Australia and were more like a desert, wedged between ocean and rainforest.

Mats went to go explore. Scrambling up and down the sand was tough but the landscape was exciting. There was rugged sandstone shaped by the wind, and occasionally a few tufts of grass had managed to get a foothold. Cresting one hill, there was a really nice view of the ocean. On the other side, the forest and the bright, green, grassy hills (with sheep) bordered the dunes. The wind picked up, especially on the ridges, and I got sand blasted, but that was part of the adventure. I wrapped my shirt around my head, held open by my hat and peered through my sunglasses. On the leeward side of a hill, the sand shifted as you walked across them, creating trippy "quicksand-looking" effects.

I got back to the creek just a little downstream of the car park. Here the tourists were sliding down the hill on boogie boards. They all left as I arrived, except one local family. After I ran down a few times they offered to let me try sliding on their boogie board as well! From the top of the hill, the board slid down fast, abruptly levelled out, and skidded across the water of the creek. Sweet! Let's go again! I ran back up the creek bed to the car and we headed off.Read more