Left is RIGHT...:)

Days 3 and 4:

First off, I'm so exhausted that I hope this entry isn't too disjointed...:) Today was a 12 hour push from Cape Reinga...

I love this place! Couple of things though: 1. Being part of the British Commonwealth, they drive on the left side; 2. There are no freeways (well, sort of..). There are "highways", but they consist of two lane roads where you can have a max speed of 100kph (60 mph). This means that it takes 4x as long to follow a particular day's route, AND you must try to avoid being a bug on some on coming truck's grill... So we pay more attention to our surroundings, which happen to be the most beautiful I've ever seen... Just making lemonade from lemons I guess, but more about that later...

Our first leg was to take David and me from Takupna to Cape Reinga, the most northern point on the North Island, and a spot I've wanted to visit for a long time. There's an old lighthouse there, built in the forties, that stands alone in beautiful country. It is also a place in NZ surrounded in legend about various chiefs, Polynesian gods, and even some plants. In addition, it's where the South Pacific joins the Tasman sea. I was hoping to get there by sunset... David and I were supposed to be up and back in a day, as the Cape is WAY out of our way from meeting our family south of Queenstown all the way down the South Island. Who planned this leg?? (oh yeah, me)

We started early day before yesterday, it would have been earlier, but I had some equipment problems (too boring to report here). As mentioned before, because of the roadways and scenery, it obviously took us much longer to get to our waypoints than planned. We also had coffee breaks, pics, met some people, etc... Where we thought we'd be traveling 60mph, we averaged about 30 to 40 on these twisty, scenic, two lane byways. Oops. It really didn't bother me, but my brother hates it when we aren't on schedule. This is one of those times where both our differences, but our teamwork comes through. David has always much more structured than me, Mr. Hospital Corners. I like structure, but also like being able to adapt. "John, we aren't going to make it in time. We should go back so we don't lose time and get back early enough to relax." Dave, we are so close, when was the last time you and I were in NZ doing this? If we have to, we can adjust other plans. Don't worry, we'll find a place way up in the Northlands so we can see the Cape in the morning (it was starting to get later). Unfortunately, we left our camping gear in Takapna due to aformentioned equip/pannier problems. I could tell Dave was starting to rankle, but he knew how much I wanted to get there and to his credit went along without complaint. I also wanted to get a place b/c we were both getting tired and that's when accidents happen.

Wow, did we ever find a great place. There's a area called Doubtless Bay on the West Side of the Northlands. No doubt it is one of the most amazing fishing villages I've ever seen, complete with pub and plenty of chowder. Many of you know that I like old things, places/things with a history and a story. This was it! We stayed in this old Victorian looking hotel, complete with a loo (toilet) down the hall and pub downstairs overlooking the bay. It was built just before the turn of the century and everything about it tells of that bygone era. For the life of me I can't remember the name because I'm exhausted, but it will be in the pics... We shared one room that had a sink and balcony, about 12 by 15 feet (tiny). One thing I noticed, the doorknobs are just over 3 feet from the floor. People were much shorter back then, so things such as door handles and entry ways were built much smaller...just one of the stories places like these tell....

Dave and I had chowder and mussels before pondering life, over looking the moon on the water that is Doubtless Bay...man, talking about making lemonade from lemons...did we ever luck out last night...

This morning, up at 5 am...making it to Cape Reinga...saw the sunrise...saw the two seas join...felt the legend that is this place...more pondering and pics...it did not disappoint! I was so happy that we made it, David was too, as he told me later. Many times when I was home, sitting on my surf board, I always took a moment and looked southwest towards NZ and Australia and think about going. In the summer, part of spring and fall, that is where much of our swells come from (ie. that is where the storms are that time of year). This morning, just after sunrise, I sat on the point and looked northwest towards home, grateful. If I had thought of some kind of bucket list, this would be crossed off...

After that, Dave and I turned around and rode 12hrs back here.

Ok, I'm falling asleep and can't write anymore....

good night,

john