We left Keri Keri heading north towards Matauri. The reason to visit this little town on the coast was the amazing views over the Bay of Islands. Plus, this is the final resting place of the famous Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior.
The story surrounding the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior is quite staggering! In the 80's the ship was heading into the Pacific to peacefully protest against French Nuclear testing on remote atolls. However,the French Government secretly employed 2 undercover agents to destroy the ship. They planted explosives on the hull and sank it killing one Greenpeace activist. But ... the French Government, after denying the whole thing, got found out! This caused huge problems with the New Zealand Government for obvious reasons! There is a huge memorial up on the hill made of stones and shaped like a rainbow with a propeller from the ship.
Next stop was the famous Manganoui fish and chip shop where all tours up north seem to stop. They were certainly taking full advantage of this with their pricing!
We headed around the coast along Doubtless Bay. We stopped briefly in
Kaitaia to grab some supplies. This is the starting point for the long drive north to Cape Reinga. It is a sacred spot for the Maori people and also the home to giant sand dunes that people bodyboard down! From the Cape, you can access 90 mile beach where the you can drive along the sand. It is even an official NZ highway! Cape Reinga lighthouse stands proud on the headland where 2 oceans meet.
Nice as this all sounds, we opted to head for the campsites instead of the long drive further north, plus our hire car is not allowed to drive on the beach!
A clear night meant the heavens providing a magnificent starry display. Wow!
The story surrounding the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior is quite staggering! In the 80's the ship was heading into the Pacific to peacefully protest against French Nuclear testing on remote atolls. However,the French Government secretly employed 2 undercover agents to destroy the ship. They planted explosives on the hull and sank it killing one Greenpeace activist. But ... the French Government, after denying the whole thing, got found out! This caused huge problems with the New Zealand Government for obvious reasons! There is a huge memorial up on the hill made of stones and shaped like a rainbow with a propeller from the ship.
Next stop was the famous Manganoui fish and chip shop where all tours up north seem to stop. They were certainly taking full advantage of this with their pricing!
We headed around the coast along Doubtless Bay. We stopped briefly in
Kaitaia to grab some supplies. This is the starting point for the long drive north to Cape Reinga. It is a sacred spot for the Maori people and also the home to giant sand dunes that people bodyboard down! From the Cape, you can access 90 mile beach where the you can drive along the sand. It is even an official NZ highway! Cape Reinga lighthouse stands proud on the headland where 2 oceans meet.
Nice as this all sounds, we opted to head for the campsites instead of the long drive further north, plus our hire car is not allowed to drive on the beach!
A clear night meant the heavens providing a magnificent starry display. Wow!
