Giants of the Puketi Kauri Forest

The main purpose of my vacation to the Northland in May 2006 was to see the giant Kauri tree. I had read about it and just had to see one for myself. As recent as two hundred years ago, there were still large tracts of these Kauri forests throughout New Zealand, especially in North Island. However, the arrival of the European settlers in the 1800s led to massive logging and decimated much of these ancient forests. The Kauri tree was prized for its huge size and strength of its timber and these qualities made it especially suitable for ship building. A mature Kauri tree is bare of branches at its trunk, except at its crown, so this made it particularly attractive for use as the masts of sailing ships.

The Kauri tree is a coniferous tree. Like the giant Sequoia tree of North America, the Kauri tree can grow to become a very large tree and it can live beyond a thousand years! A mature Kauri can grow to heights of 40-50 metres with trunk diameters of 3-4 metres. A young Kauri is characerised by branches along its trunk which gives it a shape of a cone (hence coniferous tree). As it grows, it continually sheds its lower branches. At maturity, branches are found only at its crown and the mature Kauri is characterized by its imposing trunk that is bare of branches.

Today, the largest area of mature Kauri forest is found in Waipoua Forest in Northland. It is a 2,500 hectare forest which contains three quarters of remaining New Zealand Kauri. The largest living Kauri, named after the Maori god Tane Mahuta, which means “God of the Forest”, has a height of 51m, trunk diameter of 4.4m and a girth of 13.3m ! Te Matua Ngahere, which means “Father of the Forest”, is believed to be the oldest living Kauri and estimated to be more than 2,000 years old! Some of the larger Kauri trees felled in the past could be older than Te Matua Ngahere.

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Giant Kauri 600-800 years old, trunk bare of branches
Puketi Kauri Forest, May 2006
Instead of Waipoua Forest, I had visited Puketi Forest to see these giant trees. That morning had begun with rain and mist. Fortunately, the mist had started to clear up when we made our way into the forest. My original photos of these trees did not turned out well and resulted in the blurred effect. I am a little disappointed that this is the best photo I have of these Kauri giants. This Kauri tree is estimated to be 600-800 years old and compared to Te Matua Ngahere, it would only be a teenager! Nevertheless, it was a great experience to have met and be awed by a living thing this old !

If you want another glimpse of the giant Kauri tree, turn on your speakers, click here for the video and don’t wait too long before you experience your magical New Zealand vacation:

100% Pure ! video (click here)

World Famous Mangonui Fish and Chips Shop, Doubtless Bay

Mangonui is located at the Doubtless Bay region of Northland. Once a bustling and busy whaling port, today it retains its charm as a quaint fishing village with many of its historic buildings housing restaurants, cafes, gift shops and the post office. Interestingly, Mangonui means “big shark” in Maori. However, it is not shark or its fishing industry that draws many tourists and Kiwis here but fish and chips! The star attraction is its world famous Mangonui Fish and Chips Shop which is sited along the main road and enjoys especially good business from the tour coaches.

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World Famous Mangonui Fish and Chips Shop
Mangonui Village, May 2006
This shop has the reputation of having been voted several times as the best fish and chips in New Zealand! As it is also a fish shop which serves the locals with fresh fish every day, I guess its “secret” lies in the freshness of the fish. I quite enjoyed its fish and chips and the order came with a generous serving of chips. Usually, being famous means a premium price but the price was reasonable at this shop (though I can’t recall how much I paid for the meal).

As a fish shop, it offers many varieties of fresh fish. You will get to select which type of fish to go with your chips. You will given an order number while your meal is being cooked. Many of the tours stop at this place so be prepared to wait for your food but you will get enough time to enjoy your meal. You may wish to dine on the deck which overlooks the harbour.

I had the time to wander along the road to enjoy this peaceful scenic view. There were a few albatrosses in the air that afternoon. They would glide slowly in the air, gain some height and then suddenly plunging down into the water with a “smack”, to emerge later from the water (could even see the fish in their beaks in some instances) and then flying off. It was kind of enchanting to see them do that again and again. The memory that Mangonui left with me was that of the albatrosses gliding overhead in this peaceful scenic place and less of the fish and chips in my tummy!

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Mangonui Village, May 2006

Giant Sand Dunes at Ninety Mile Beach, Cape Reinga

Below photo was taken on the hill at Cape Reinga. The islands off the coast are the “Three Kings” which according to Maori belief is where the spirits of the deceased would turn around to have one last look at land before heading out to the open sea towards their spiritual homeland of Hawaiki. The beach on the left leads to the Ninety Mile Beach and on the other side of Ninety Mile Beach lies the Giant Sand Dunes.

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The "Three Kings" off Ninety Mile Beach
Cape Reinga, May 2006
The Giant Sand Dunes are a popular tourist spot. Many tourists take the opportunity to slide down the huge sand dunes. It probably is fun playing on the sand and even though the sun was out that day, I was not too keen to join my fellow tourists. It was very late autumn, perhaps even the start of winter, and we were all wearing our jackets and shoes when we stepped out of the coach. Taking my jacket, socks and shoes off for one hour in rather cool weather is definitely not my idea of fun!

If some day you plan to see the sand dunes and have your fun too, do come prepared to get dirty and wet. Some fellas got bumped off their boards on the bottom slope and flipped over and some others could not stop in time and ended up in the stream below!

Below photo puts the size of these giant sand dunes in perspective. Be forewarned, the ride down is exhilarating but you will find it a challenge walking up the sand dune for the next ride again.

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Boarding on the Giant Sand Dunes
Ninety Mile Beach, Cape Reinga, May 2006

Te Paki Quicksand at Ninety Mile Beach, New Zealand

Ninety Mile Beach (the New Zealand one) is located on the western coast of Aupouri Peninsula. It is just a short drive away from Cape Reinga. Ninety Mile Beach is not really ninety miles long. It is actually only 55 miles (88 km). How did this “error” come about? My guide explained that in the past, cattle were herded along the beach. As cattle would travel about so many miles a day (sorry, I forgot how many) and it took several days/weeks to move the cattle from one end to the other end of the beach, it was deduced that the beach was 90 miles long! Haha……

The beach is quite flat and the sand compact and firm for most parts of it, so even large vehicles like coaches could travel on it at speeds of 100km/hr. However, if you plan to self-drive on Ninety Mile Beach, you will need to be aware that rental vehicles are prohibited from being driven on the beach. Rental car companies will bring to your attention that vehicle insurance cover excludes any loss from driving on this beach. It is because there have been enough instances of visitors driving on to the Te Paki Quicksand streams and having to abandon their cars!

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Car caught on the Te Paki Quicksand streams
Ninety Mile Beach, May 2006
On my vacation in May 2006, my guide pointed out that above car got stuck in the sand just 3 weeks earlier. Any car caught on the quicksand would be completely submerged in just 2 months. Whether it was a rental car or owned, this trip would have cost that driver a hefty bit ! In the photo, you can see the sand dunes which comes right up to the beach.

Instead of self-drive, you could book one of many coach tours which include Cape Reinga, Ninety Mile Beach, boardsurfing on the giant sand dunes and a trip into the Kauri forest to meet the giants! If you book the 4x4 Dune Rider, you may wish to get into the front seat and have someone snap a photo of you in the “bikini”. ;-)

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4x4 Dune Rider, May 2006
On that day, we had the opportunity to walk on the beach, right up to the edge of the waves, to dig for Tuatuas (shellfish).

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Digging for Tuatuas
Ninety Mile Beach, May 2006

Pacific Ocean Meets The Tasman Sea, Cape Reinga

Cape Reinga Lighthouse was built in 1941. In 1998, it became fully automated and there was no longer any need for lighthouse keepers. Today, it still serves its function as a lighthouse. It took 6 photos to compose below panorama. You can catch a glimpse of the giant sand dunes again on the bottom right corner. Cape Reinga is at the northern tip of North Island and Bluff (indicated on the yellow signpost) is at the southern end of South Island. Between them, a long journey and I traveled that distance in May-June 2006.

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Cape Reinga Lighthouse, May 2006
Off the cape, you can see where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea. This meeting of the seas produces very choppy waters. Do you see the two persons at the bottom right corner of the photo? Take note of their size and you can imagine how huge those white frothy waves are!

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Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea
Cape Reinga, May 2006

Cape Reinga, "The Leaping Place"

At the northern end of North Island of New Zealand lies Cape Reinga. It is often mistaken as the northernmost point of North Island. However, that privilege really belongs to Surville Cliffs which is some 30km away.

Cape Reinga is sacred to the Maori. In Maori language, Cape Reinga is known as Te Rerenga Wairua, which means the leaping-off place of spirits! In Maori belief, the spirits of the deceased would make their way to the cape and from this point, the spirits depart the mainland and make their journey in the afterlife to their spiritual homeland in Hawaiki. As they depart, they turn briefly at the “Three Kings” islands for one last look towards the land and then continue on their journey.

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The famous mailbox on the right
Cape Reinga, May 2006
New Zealand is often perceived as having lush greenery but at Cape Reinga you will discover a desert of giant sand dunes and quicksand! You will see the sand dunes on the left side of above photo. The “Three Kings” are the islands off the coast.

One of the things you may wish to do is to drop a postcard at the Cape Reinga mailbox. It is shown on the right of above photo. Postcards dropped at this mailbox will bear the special postmark “Cape Reinga”. There are no tourist shops around here so purchase the postcard and postage stamp prior to making this trip.

Continuing from the right of above photo is the Cape Reinga Lighthouse. While this area certainly looks like a nice picnic ground, out of respect to Maori, all visitors are requested to refrain from food and drinks on this sacred land.

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Cape Reinga Lighthouse, May 2006