Today was officially day two of our road trip. We got up early and drove up Highway 11 then 10 towards Cape Reinga, the most northern point of New Zealand. It was a gorgeous sunny day, perfect for a road trip!

After an hour or so, we took our first detour of the day, along a route called Million Dollar View Road and it was so worth it! The scenary was amazing - mountains and forest on one side, the pacific ocean and gorgeous beaches on the other (see photo). We stopped off at Te Ngaere for a quick walk on the beach and then onto Cable Bay, part of Doubtless Bay, which was also stunning.

Back in the car, we carried on to Highway 1 and the start of the road up north. As we got further north the scenary changed a lot. It became much drier and less green, but still stunning. We saw huge salt plains, sand dunes and the sea on both sides of the peninsula. There is really very little in the north, just a few small villages, a couple of rest stops and Highway 1!

Finally we made it to Cape Reinga. This is the point where the Maori believe the spirits leave the land and return home so it's a special place. It is also the place that the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea meet. We walked down the the lighthouse and watched the sea crash against the rocks. Whales also come up to the beaches here but we didn't see any.

From Cape Reinga we tramped along the cliff face to Tarawamaomao Point. It was a beautiful walk but I was a little scared of being so close to the cliff face! Eeek! Totally worth it for the amazing view though.

After we left Cape Reinga I (Jo) drove for the first time. It took me a while to get used to an automatic car, especially on mountain roads, so I caused a bit of a traffic jam, oops!

We wanted to go to Ninety Mile beach, which runs along the west coast of the peninsula. You can drive alone the actual beach but unfortunately Lucy isn't insured to, so instead we drove to the beach from the Highway. The road could, at best, be described as a gravel track and so it made for a bumpy ride. Eventually we made it to the beach and accidentally drove Lucy onto it (don't tell the rental company). I'm sure the beach was easier to drive on than the road to it! We tried to drive down another track but it lead to a lodge and then a dead end, so we gave up and went back to the Highway.

After that we were on a mission to get some lunch but there is so little in the north it wasn't easy. We eventually stopped at a cafe along with all the coach trips and grabbed some food. In the gift shop they had a staircase carved out of a whole tree trunk! I wanted to bring it home but don't think it'll fit into my case :-(

We decided to do a circular route and drive back to Paihia on Highway 1. This proved to be interesting as the road went through Mangamuka Gorge. It was a little like driving on Mario cart! After 35 minutes we finally emerged in one piece at the other end. I think the scenary might have been pretty but I was too busy looking at the road!

We got back to Paihia at around 6.15 and wanted to do the Waitangi trek to Haruru Falls. This was 10k and supposed to take 3 hours but we only had 2 hours before sunset so we had to walk quickly! The trek was through the Waitangi Reserve, which is a kiwi reserve, and included a crossing over a mangrove forest. The mangrove trees grow in the water twice a day when the tide comes in, which is amazing. Trees here manage to grow in the strangest places! We made it to the falls and back before dark but didn't spot any kiwis, much to Claire's disappointment.

After that we got some dinner at Jimmy Jack's rib shack and are now heading to bed! Total kilometers driven so far is 809, almost 500 of those today!

We leave the Bay of Islands tomorrow and will be sad to go. It would be nice to stay here for a few more days and chill out on the beach but we have loads to see!