Rugged Northland- Part 2

The next morning was rainy and we were a little pissed because we were driving to Cape Reinga the northernmost part of New Zealand, the end of the world, the point of departure for the spirits leaving the land of the living and the point at which the Tasman sea and the Pacific ocean collide. We packed up the car, stopped in a store for some yummy breakfast? pies and headed up to the edge of country. Its incredible, there is a lone tree at the departure point for the spirits and no one can explain how it survives there, precariously clinging to the jagged rocks, the ocean constantly pounding its base, breathing in the toxic and salty air. If you are standing face to face with the lighthouse and you look out to the left you can see where the Tasman and Pacific crash into one another; huge waves are conjured out of nowhere and the seas spiral around each other in such amazing patterns. Its really spectacular, and I've heard that on sunny days you can see the mixing of the blue pacific with the green of the Tasman.
From there we headed back down south. Stopped at the irrationally serene oceanside town of Opononi, and visited Jamie's old chicken friend perched at the overlook point. We drove down the windy forest road to the 2000 year old kauri tree, Tane Mahuta, stopped to see some impressively carved 45000 year old kauri trees including the store's very own bored out tree staircase, we saw basalt rock boulders, which Paula and Ryan tell me are the same rocks found in the Blackrock Desert, in some German guy's backyard, some of which he had defaced with gaudy yellow spray paint to make them look more anthropomorphic (the spiny dragon taking a bath in the river was a bit far-fetched). We made it home in time for a thoroughly yummy and partially homegrown meal cooked up by the most amazing tour guides in NZ, Ryan and Paula.