Tour to Cape Reinga

Last week I joined my friend Karen to see Northland and Cape Reinga. I have just arrived back in Auckland after an amazing trip to the northern most point in NZ- as near as I could get to home without getting wet.

The weather was amazing and the beaches like nothing you'll see in Britain.

Highlights: a 10km walk through forest jungle.

Swimming off the Cape.

A quad bike trip round the headland below Ninety Mile Beach.

A kayak trip near Doubtless Bay.

The Cape lookout allows you to see where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Oceans meet. There is a line between them. No joke. The differently angled lines of waves meet at 45 degrees and waves break against each other in the middle of open water, sometimes appearing as if they are chasing each other left, then right. When they meet head on the spray massive.

We experienced one night in the worst backpackers I've seen since I was in Russia in 1995. You have to pay a dollar for 5 minutes for a shower that dribbles on cold and disappears on hot. I spiked my foot on the broken lino and drew blood.

Last week I accidentally met the best friend (Jane) of the beautiful and feisty Kiwi girl I dated when I was at uni (Miriam). This chance meeting resulted in a phone call to Dubai to speak to her for the first time in 10 years. And the address of Jane's relatives in Doubtless Bay in Northland. Christine and Fred regularly have guests and we were encouraged to call by. We did and they were fantastic. Over 2 nights, we had some fascinating conversation and witnessed the benefits of an alphabetized database for the larder, the garage and the bookshelves.

Current Travel Plans:

Some brilliant contacts have come through for India. However there may be delays in getting the visa and immunisations sorted out. So it is still not absolutely decided if I am coming home via Chennai or Singapore. But whatever happens I aim to be back in Bristol by about the 20th March. And then on to Sheffield until the summer.