Cape Reinga & the Te Paki Sand Dunes

Today we headed up to the northern most part of the island - to the Cape Reinga lighthouse.

This part of the ocean is where the Tasman Sea and the South Pacific meet. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the two seas sort of churn together (third photo). I guess the waves can get quite high in a storm.

We ended up hiking down to the beach on the Tasman Sea side.

After our hike, we headed to the Giant Te Paki sand dunes. When they say "giant," they mean giant!! I have never seen such huge dunes. Absolutely amazing! Just as you crest one dune, there are three more in front of you. We got there around sunset and had fun exploring. We made it all the way to a dune where we could see the ocean again. Yay!

People go sand boarding on these dunes - a boogie board down the hill. There weren't any people doing it when we were there, but we could see where they had been. Those hills are super steep!!! We ran down - no boogie board needed!Read more