Today we had to set our alarm(!) as we had to get up early to get to our tour. After breakfast, we drove to Kaitaia in the pouring rain. We checked in for our tour to Cape Reinga and then ran back to the van in the car park to add more layers of clothes!

At 9am, about 15 of us got on the bus and our Maori driver, Robin, introduced himself. We set off for our first stop at the Ancient Kauri Kingdom, which was supposedly an exhibition about kauris but was really just a glorified gift shop and cafe - not up to the same standard as the kauri museum!

After a quick coffee, we were back on the bus. Robin was turning out to be a really entertaining driver - he was full of information about anything and everything that we drove past, and had lots of jokes which were so bad they were good - his bosses and the Aussies seemed to be his favourite source of material. He also addressed us all as 'fellas' for the whole trip!

Our next stop was at Rawara Beach, which had brilliant white sand, and clear blue sea, but it was freezing! As we carried on northwards, we passed lots of kauri in fields at the side of the road, which had been dredged up from the swamps and is drying out before it is sold on. We had a quick stop at Te Keo Store, the most northern general store in NZ and famous for it's massive ice creams, which we couldn't afford!

Our next stop was lunch at Tapotupotu Bay - scones, biscuits, crackers, tea and coffee in gale force winds and light rain. But we were enjoying ourselves, and it was another beautiful bay. We then headed for the Cape itself, and it proved to be a spectacular sight. The Maoris believe that Reinga is the departing place of the spirits after death, and it is the point where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide. To get to the lighthouse, we had to walk down a path for about 10 minutes in winds that were so strong they could blow you off your feet, but it was well worth it. The sight of the clear line where the two seas meet was very impressive and unique - something you probably won't see anywhere else in the world. We had our photos taken at the lighthouse, then headed back up the hill to the bus.

Next stop was Te Paki Stream, and sand dunes - the entrance to Ninety Mile Beach and time to do some sand toboganning! Laura decided to take photos of me, so I headed up the giant sand dunes to queue up with my sledge, behind a big group of Japanese school kids who were there on another bus tour! It soon came round to my turn - the guy at the top told me to keep my feet up, lean back and shut my mouth, before pushing me off! I whizzed down, got covered in sand, and managed to stop at the bottom without falling off or going too far and landing in the stream! Good fun..

Back on the bus, we began our journey back along Ninety Mile Beach, which is actually only 64 miles long. Apparently it's called Ninety Mile Beach because in the old days horses could travel 30 miles a day and years ago it took them 3 days to cover the length of the beach, but they hadn't taken into account (or realised) that horses travel slower on sand than on land! It was another unique experience - driving in a coach along a beach, with the sea right next to us! Along the way, Robin told us about cars that had got stuck on the beach and sunk into the quicksand! We also saw a sea turtle (apparantly very rare in August!) and a Seal as we drove along.

Eventually we headed off the beach and back towards Kaitaia, with another stop at the Ancient Kauri Kingdowm on the way back for Robin to clean the sand off the bus! We picked up our campervan and headed back to the campsite at Ahipara for another night. A fantastic day, one of th best we had in NZ so far!