Far North und Cape Reinga

We set off early, four people, two cars. Our first destination is probably the only place in the world where you can shit on art with impunity and intellectual integrity. Hundertwasser spent his last 16 years in Kawakawa, leaving behind a public centre of deprivation.

Allgäu likes to heat things up and is still pushing even though I’m already stoking well. Later she says she would like to drive a racing car. I have to grin. We drive through the northern Northland towards the end of New Zealand. We cross the last of the primeval Kauri forests on rollercoaster-like roads. Cédric has been unwell for a long time. Everyone is a bit shattered from yesterday, which requires a few forced stops.

After two hours we arrive at Ninety-Mile-Beach. The wind is onshore at 10 knots. Not enough for kiting, but enough to test the Vegas for the first time. On the first launch, it pulls the pump up with it. It falls from a height of 10 metres and dies a horrible death. I familiarise myself with the kite, let it pull me over the beach for a bit, then we continue.

We put up at a small farmstay hostel in Pukenui. There’s a sign on the door: “Welcome! Move your stuff in, all beds are free. I’ll be back in the evening.” We do, and drive on to Cape Reinga in a car.

Shortly before the end of the North Island, the highest sand dunes in New Zealand are on the way. A gravel track takes us to the foot of the sand dunes. In the late afternoon sun, they glow between ancient green forests and the blue Tasman Sea.

We hire bodyboards and race towards the mountains. The ascent is steep and long, the fine sand slips immediately. At the top, the gradient looks even more threatening than from below. Cédric is the first to fly. With the bodyboard you can easily reach 30kmh. After several rides, we head over more dunes towards the sea, exhausted. Everything is empty, free and beautiful. Finally, we remember the warning not to toboggan standing up. Of course we have to try it out. Ends with a few fun falls.

Then it’s on to the last end of New Zealand. In Cape Reinga, an old tree stands on the last cliff, behind which the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet. According to Maori legend, this is the place where the souls of the deceased dive into the sea and go on a journey to their ancestors.

We are almost alone in Cape Reinga. Birds, crickets and the sunset. We sit silently on the last cliff and watch the seas fight. Peace. I leave two souls here. Let them move on somewhere else. Better this way.