Northland

We headed out Tuesday for the town of Russell in the Bay of Islands, following the coastal road. Man, is it ever a hilly, windy country!! Rory and I both felt nauseous a few times but fortunately were able to stretch our legs on one of many beautiful beaches along the way. Arriving in Russell we found a place to stay and then explored the charming town with it's colonial houses and bay full of sailboats. That evening we enjoyed some great views from Tapeka Point and Flagstaff Hill of the Bay of Islands, which made us think of the San Juan and Canadian Gulf islands back home.(but warm and tropical!)

Wednesday we backtracked a few kilometers because I wanted to see - not a waterfall or beautiful bay -but toilets!! They happen to be the last works of a favourite artist of mine, Friedrich Hundertwasser from Austria! They were definitely the coolest toilets I have ever seen!

Having seen and used the mosaicked toilets of Kawakawa, we drove up to the bottom of 90 mile beach. The tide was too high to get on the beach, so we booked a cabin at the campsite there and drove up to the very tip of New Zealand to Cape Reinga. Watching the Tasman sea crashing into the Pacific Ocean was pretty cool!
Back in the rental car, we drove down the Te Paki stream (only passed one vehicle stuck in deeper water) for about 3.5 km and came to 90 mile beach, now at low tide. It's actually only about 66 miles but we drove down the beach in the sand for over 40 of them! It was a little nerve wracking, especially for Nigel, the driver, but it was also pretty exciting and the first time we've driven straight since we got here!
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