Sand Surfing

90 Mile Beach is actually only 55 miles/ 88 kilometers long. Nobody really knows the reason for the misnomer. But regardless of the name, it's a unique place to see-different from the rest of New Zealand. We opted out of a bus tour, and decided to walk on the beach instead. We saw several buses zoom by while we were exploring. Cars have been known to hit soft sand and get stuck in the tide; however, unfortunately, we didn't get to see any trapped vehicles. We did get to do some sand dune boarding, though! We hired some boogie boards, trekked up to the top of the sand dunes-which turned out to be way steeper than we originally thought, and then boogie boarded down. It was great fun! Except for having to walk back up the sand dune again. And for the fact that sand got everywhere and in everything!

After the excitement of the sand dunes, we headed to Cape Reinga. In Maori the Aupouri Peninsula is called, "Te Hiko o te Ika a Maui" which means the tail of Maui's fish. As legend has it, Maui pulled a huge fish from the ocean, which became the North Island. Cape Reinga is the very tip of the peninsula. A lighthouse overlooks where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet, which produces a visible line of waves in the water. The setting was beautiful when the sun was out, however, on our walk back up to the car, we got stuck in a rain shower. Oh well, no worries!