We're finishing up our time in Northland, and what a beautiful time it's been! One of the top things I wanted to do while in New Zealand was to visit Waipoua Forest, one of the very few remaining stands of ancient Kauri trees. These trees are nearly as massive as the Sequoias found in California, but unlike any tree I've seen before. They're found in what I'd call a subtropical rainforest (yes, that's my expert opinion, haha), and they don't call them rainforests for nothing! We got rained on ALL DAY, but we didn't let that ruin our day. In fact, it felt downright magical being in this forest with no one else around. The only sounds you could hear were the birds (one I dubbed the R2D2 bird for the strange noises it made), and the rain falling through the canopy and dripping off the leaves. It was amazing how much plant life was packed into every square inch of forest. There were plants growing on top of plants growing on top of other plants! The trunks of the huge Kauri trees were mostly bare bark, but once you got to the top, there were all kinds of ferns, mosses, and other plants growing amongst the tree's own canopy leaves. It was definitely an experience worth savoring.

Another beautiful day in Northland was spent driving up to the Cape Reinga Lighthouse. Everyone says it's not to be missed, so we figured we better do it! Once we got there, we quickly came to the realization that nobody comes for the lighthouse, which is rather small and unimpressive. Rather, it's the excellent scenery that surrounds the lighthouse. Standing on a high grassy hill, we could look down on rocky cliffs and aquamarine waters. Every time the waves crashed, the waters looked electric blue! Scenery like that is definitely picnic-worthy, so we sat down to have some lunch and enjoy the show!

While the scenery here is gorgeous, we did invest some time exploring other facets of New Zealand. We visited the Waitangi Treaty House to learn a bit about Maori culture. Being here at the end of winter has it's perks; we got a deal on seeing a cultural performance and our own private tour of the grounds with a descendent of one of the Maori chiefs that signed the famous treaty (or infamous, depending on your point of view). Our guide was very informative and taught us a lot about his culture. They've always been an oral culture and still to this day rely mostly on passing "sacred knowledge" down through the generations. The cultural performance was lots of fun, with singing and dancing from a local tribe. They even invited all the men to come up and try a "haka," a dance traditionally used before war to intimidate the enemy. Now it's mostly used on the rugby fields. Jeff looked down right frightening!

Today we've got a good drive ahead of us to Coromandel and certainly more beautiful scenery…never a dull moment in New Zealand!