Kaitaia 2

Trip Start Sep 03, 2007
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Trip End Jun 17, 2009


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Flag of New Zealand  , North Island,
Wednesday, June 4, 2008

We lunched at 'Tatotupotu Bay', where it had now started to rain in the fresh southerly breeze. Heading back we saw on the west coast a man made forest, that had been planted initially to stop the huge sand dunes encroaching on the farmland and this had now been extended to provide a constant timber infeed for a mill back in Kaitaia.

At the homestead of 'Te Puki' we turned towards the coast through great sand dunes, without stopping to sand toboggan in the showery rain. We then drove along a sandy stream bed until we reached the northern end of 'Ninety Mile Beach' where we drove along the flat beach, at the side of the waves, for nearly forty miles. The beach is actually about sixty miles long and no one knows where the 'ninety miles' came from. Perhaps it was someone's (extended) imagination many years ago!

The rain had stopped and it was sunny as we left the beach and reached 'Awanui', to visit the 'Ancient Kauri Kingdom'. This was really a commercial concern that dug up enormous Kauri logs and sculpted them into furniture, statues and tourist items. In their showroom was a Kauri tree that had a circular staircase cut inside it - very impressive!

Late afternoon and we were back in Kaitaia, feeling a little sad that we had covered New Zealand from bottom to top and were now heading back towards Auckland and exit.
 
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