Cape Reinga

The best way to appreciate this part of the Far North to Cape Reinga is to take a scenic flight from the Bay of Islands or with one of the local bus tour operators that offer daily trips from the Bay of Islands and Kaitaia. You will learn the history and legends of the region including various points of interest and enjoy a drive along the magnificent sometimes wild west coast of Ninety Mile Beach, Try your hand at Sand tobogganing on the sand dunes of Te Paki stream

Many visitors combine a visit to 90 Mile Beach with a trip to Cape Reinga, as these destinations are close together. For example, the Fullers tour Cape Reinga Via 90 Mile Beach tour includes a drive along 90 Mile Beach and a visit to the Cape as well as a visit to the Puketi Kauri Forest and a lunch of fresh fish and chips in Houhora.

90 Mile beach

Sand dunes of Te Paki Stream

Just inland from the beach you’ll find massive sand dunes, formed by the wind over many centuries. It’s a surreal landscape – you’ll feel like you have been transported to the middle of the Sahara Desert. These towering hills of sand are the perfect place to practice a unique and thrilling sport: sand boarding.

If you are brave enough, sit or lie on a plastic sled and go zooming down the sandy slopes. It’s an addictive thrill and you will want to slide down again and again, gathering confidence and speed with each run

coastal strip of 150m high sand dunes. How high? Yep. So it’s a steep climb, but no pain, no gain, right?

And if you want to clock the view – and the view from the top is amazing – then you gotta scale the heights. Right, again? And, seriously, grandmas do it. They do! So, what are you waiting for?

You might want to ditch the shoes – there’s the Te Paki Stream to cross – and you might also want to take a scarf (or something that doubles as one) to cover your mouth. You’ll get some serious speed up going down, and you won’t want a mouth full of sand. Just sayin’.

Here’s a thought for the less energetic – a roam around the dunes is an experience in itself. You certainly don’t feel like you’re just a stone’s throw from Northland sheep pasture land. It’s a desert out there – the landscape is outstanding. This is one of those experiences you just don’t see coming, where an innocuous yellow signpost leads to something spectacular and unexpected. ‘‘I was just cruising up to the Cape,” you’ll say. Next thing you’re flying down the dunes.

Image: Fullers Great Sights

Cape Reinga

Cape Reinga, at one end of 90 Mile Beach, is where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet. In Maori culture, it’s where the souls of the departed leave New Zealand to return to their spiritual home. (The name Reinga) means “Underworld” and another Maori name for the location is Te Rerenga Wairua which means the “leaping off place of the spirits.”

It’s easy to see why this location came to have such an important sacred meaning, especially when you are standing on the dramatic point and watching the powerful currents of the two mighty seas swirling together.

90 mile beach ride

Since rental companies won’t allow their cars on the sand of the beach (for safety reasons), the easy way to drive along the beach is to catch a coach tour from Kaitaia. These tours use special vehicles that are built for off-road driving and have large panorama windows so that you won’t miss a minute of the view.

You’ll get the thrill of zooming down the beach with the Tasman Sea on one side and the sand dunes on the other – without having to worry about driving. Don’t be shocked when your driver steers the bus straight up Te Paki Stream up into the sand dunes – it’s all part of the off-road thrill.

breathtaking glory of Ninety Mile Beach wasn’t enough, right at the northern end, near the Te Paki Stream, are some seriously steep and seriously fun sand dunes.

Just a short drive off the main road north to Cape R?inga, they are a small detour that delivers a big reward.

You’ll need a sandboard for the adrenaline-pumping ride down, and you can just rent one onsite, real simple. In the busy season, you might want to pre-book, and you’ll need ID. Yep, even for a sandboard, and they’re not even motorised. Though by the time you get to the bottom, you might start to wonder.