Days 25 to 27 - Cape Reinga & Kauri Forests

One of our aims in NZ was to drive up to the most northerly tip called Cape Reinga.

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This entailed driving through some spectacular countryside. Above is Whangarei Falls...

...and the photo here was taken overlooking the Bay of Islands.

Our overnight stay was at Kerikeri in the delightful Pagoda Lodge.

One of the things we discovered were takeaway roast dinner shops - genuine British roast meals - roast beef, pork, chicken or lamb served with roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy - delicious!

The kiwis certainly go for British food!

We even slept in a four poster!

Just down the road in Kerikeri was the Stone Store house which is one of the oldest buildings in NZ, 1832.

It's fish 'n' chips for lunch at "the world famous fish 'n' chip shop", (click the link), at Mangonui...

...where also there was this delightful church.

Finally, we got to Cape Reinga and you could see the lighthouse. Here, the Tasman sea, on the left, meets the Pacific Ocean.

Although it was blowing a gale at the time, we managed to pose for this photo with the beautiful bay behind us.

Overnight again at the Pagoda Lodge then off to the west coast to Omapere for the photo above.

Then to Waipoua Forest to see the biggest Kauri tree in New Zealand, "Tane Mahuta" or "Lord of the Forest", almost 2,000 years old. Click HERE to find out more.

And then on to the village of Matakohe and the Kauri Museum. See the link HERE.
Unfortunately the kiwi in the photo above are stuffed, (although we did see some live ones later but were not allowed to take photos), so that is all you are going to see here of these devious little birds.

However, apart from the model kiwi the Kauri museum contained much information about this wonderful tree. You can see how large the trunk is in the photo above. 
The log has memorable dates labelled in it's annual rings dating from approximately the year 1100 when the seedling first sprouted to 1960 when the tree was cut down.

Apart from a slice of the tree, which runs the length of the display hall, on the wall at the end are concentric circles depicting the diameters of known Kauri trees.

Leaving the museum and making our way back to Auckland we saw the by now familiar fields full of cattle as well as the occasional flock of sheep which NZ is so famous for.

And what could be a better way to finish the day than by having an Indian meal at the Wishing Well restaurant in Howick where it is usual to BYOW, (bring your own wine), with Carolyn, her son, Conrad and daughter, Amber.