The Far North
VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Sun 24 Feb 2013 17:43
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We've been off camping for a few days in the Far
North which is quite remote and mostly not very exciting. Their biggest
claim to fame in those parts is the Southern Hemisphere's largest
man-made forest. We didn't visit it.
But we did visit the furthest extremity of mainland
NZ, Cape Reinga. Here it is, the day-trippery bit:
 I've never paid much attention to these signpost
things before, but this one represents just about the extremity of our
circumnavigation. We're a long way from London:
 The Cape here is rather nicely done, quite
understated. Just a small lighthouse and a viewing platform, with a car park
hidden half a mile away. Land's End it is not. No fast food, no tatty souvenir
shops, no litter.
This is the view west showing the very first
section of the Te Arora long distance path which now goes all the way to the
southern tip of South Island, a 120 day walk. It was modelled on the Pennine
Way:
 We camped at this bay j5km to the east in a
Department of Conservation (DoC) site right at the edge of the beach and walked
to the Cape and back:
 Here is the path, nearing the Cape:
 And the Cape itself showing the relatively unspoilt
atmosphere:
 The islands in the background are the Three Kings
(named by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman who first saw them on 6 January 1643
- the date of the Epiphany, when the Three Kings allegedly found the
infant Jesus). The Three Kings are volcanic, but isolated from NZ for 22 million
years. They have some unique wildlife as a result, but visiting is strictly
prohibited to protect them.
Cape Reinga is a lovely place.
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