The Far North

In Māori legend, The Far North of New Zealand is the tail of the great fish Maui pulled from the ocean, it’s spiritual and ‘winterless’.

It’s a shifting sandscape up here. Long sweeping beaches, booming breakers, and  wind-beaten coastal mānuka/kānuka scrub. Fishermen outnumber swimmers and you won’t find a mall or shopping centre. This is wild New Zealand and a place of great significance to Māori.

According to Māori spiritual beliefs, the spirits of the deceased journey along Ninety Mile Beach, Te Oneroa a Tohe, towards Te Rerenga Wairua, following a spiritual pathway called Te Ara Wairua. At the northernmost point of the Cape, they descend the roots of an ancient pōhutukawa tree and leap out into the water, and journey into the underworld, returning to their ancestral homeland of Hawaiki.

Near this northernmost point of the cape is the site of the Cape Rēinga lighthouse. This Kiwi landmark overlooks an arresting visual spectacle, the swirling meeting of the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea. This is also the start (or finish) point of Te Araroa (The Long Pathway), a thru-hiking route running roughly 3000 kilometres along the length of New Zealand.

Visiting the nearby Te Paki sand dunes is non-negotiable. These 150 metre high dunes form a vast desert-like environment. Go for a stroll and imagine you're in the Gobi, or hire a sandboard and go zooming. 

Excellent DOC and local coastal campsites are abundant in the Far North, offering some of New Zealand’s best easy-to-access yet remote-feel camping opportunities. The sites at Spirit’s Bay and Tapotupotu Bay are two of note.