^^ sweet as...
The afternoon on our bus tour brought us to the giant Te Paki sand dunes (the bus drove thru quicksand!) and then along the entirety of 90-mile beach (which isn't actually 90 miles, poor first estimate that stuck).
I was immediately captivated by the vastness of 90-mile beach. And then our tour guide made the mistake of mentioning the Te Houtaewa Challenge, a 62-kilometer run from one end of the beach to the other that's held every year.
So now I really really really want to go back and run that beach. What is travel for if not to add a few hundred more dreams to your bucket list?
But 90-mile beach is pretty neat because it's actually a legal highway. Not according to Google maps but according to the government of New Zealand. All traffic rules apply! Though you drive at your own risk and car rental companies won't insure your car there. It's pretty crazy to be driving along with the waves lapping so close to the bus...but the ride is smoother than any I've had on cement!
Also, the sand dunes were ginormous. It took forever to climb up one! One step forward, two steps back is how that went. And while we got sand in places that need not mentioning, it was a super fun experience.
^^ plowing thru the te paki quicksand stream
The following is my sand tobogganing crash sequence, lovingly captured for you by my personal Gregographer.
^^ if only we could really see the facial expression here...
^^ board stops, i don't.
^^ oddly enough, my first attempt at skiing ended very similarly....
^^ that's a vacation cover photo if i've ever seen one...
^^ oh us? we just be road trippin'...
^^ i did not get to milk this cow. but would you want to milk a cow giving you that look?
^^ this cow is so fat. with little twig legs!!
^^ this cow is so itchy.
^^ i don't know what these are called but they are so cool-looking
^^ unfortunately, not the best i've had...
The technicals: we woke up before the sun and drove 101 kilometers along the 1 to meet our bus in Kaitaia. The bus took us all the way up the 1, to the very tip (Cape Reinga), and then back along 90-mile beach. We finished our day with the 101 kilometer drive back to camp in Paihia.
Have a great day :-)
2 comments:
That flower is called a Red Hot Poker. They are everywhere here.
That is good to know...I hope it's not some kind of weed or other plant I'm not supposed to like!
Post a Comment