Tick-it Tours Newsletter

Cape Reinga– Ninety Mile Beach

22 October, 2009

Travelling to the iconic lighthouse at Cape Reinga is a requirement of many travellers to New Zealand and whilst it’s not quite the most northern point of New Zealand (North Cape is further north, but it’s a scientific reserve and not open to the public), Cape Reinga is definitely the end of the road. Apart from the much photographed lighthouse and the AA sign post pointing to all corners of the world it is the meeting place of the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean in a spectacular swirl of currents. Below the lighthouse is the gnarly old Pohutukawa Tree, believed to be over 800 years old and according to Maori oral history, the spirits of Maori deceased leap from this tree into the ocean to return to their ancestral homeland of Hawaiiki.

The cape is accessible via road and private car, however if you wish to relax and take the bus you will have the thrill of driving to or from the cape along the Te Paki Quicksand Stream, which is part of the semi-lunar Ninety Mile Beach actually only 96 kilometers long. Private car insurance becomes invalid if you are foolhardy enough to try and negotiate this dangerous stretch of beach yourself. The odd fender sticking out of the sand is testimony to human folly.

The beach, and specifically the northern dunes are a famous tourist destination. The dunes, looking very much like a desert landscape, are an unexpected sight for travellers, especially if arriving from the landward side (as opposed to approaching them from along the beach). They are often used for bodyboarding.

In 1932, Ninety Mile Beach was used as the runway for some of the earliest airmail services between Australia and New Zealand. It is still used as an alternative road to State Highway 1 north of Kaitaia, though mainly for tourist reasons, or when the main road is closed due to landslides or floods.