I am ticketed out of this country so I return with pleasure exploring the north island. I love the feeling of anticipation before seeing a new place.
I am glad to be here, the pure energy of the land and the people are so welcome. I realize anew the many reasons I have been called here.
The trip to Cape Rainga was through mist (this is called the land of the long white cloud for a reason). The sun repeatedly broke through with dazzling rays. I saw a white rainbow. I did not know this was even possible.
We drove to 90 Mile Beach, literally, racing beside the ocean for many kilometers. We then drove up a dried river bed to sand dunes.
Here people surfed down them. The day was brilliant and the mists burned away. Unfortunately, a young Scottish woman came down a dune and smacked into a car. We were worried she was terribly hurt as there was a lot of blood. An ambulance was called. It had to come from 200 miles away. She was alright when she was cleaned up and was very fortunate she was not mortally injured. It cast a pall on the day and in a more somber mood we continued to Cape Rainga.
This is a sacred spot and we were asked not to eat food here. It was a high bluff with a lighthouse, where the Tasman and the Pacific meet in a cross fire of surf. It is said that the spirits of the dead gather here to depart in the hour before dawn to return to their homeland of Hawaii. The company took us out for fish and chips and paid for our dinner as we were late and also to compensate for the difficulty of the day.
I am enchanted again by this country, the top as lovely and interesting as the rest. Vents of steam escape from grassy areas without comment – this is just how it is. Pictured here is boiling mud which I visited– it is fairly common in addition to the steam vents.
