“I’m a big believer in winging it. I’m a big believer that you’re never going to find perfect city travel experience or the perfect meal without a constant willingness to experience a bad one. Letting the happy accident happen is what a lot of vacation itineraries miss, I think, and I’m always trying to push people to allow those things to happen rather than stick to some rigid itinerary.”
– Anthony Bourdain
One advantage to renting a car when you travel, is the ability to pick and choose where you would like to go at any given moment. This was something that we used to our full advantage on this trip. For our first two days we decided that we were going to go see 90-mile beach. This is a beach that came highly recommended and we figured that it would be awfully cool to see the Tasman sea. So off we went, driving north from Auckland. If I could give anyone advice about driving around the island, it would be that drive times are often nothing near what Google says they are. Especially in the northern half. The roads are narrow and windy with a lot of switchbacks and barely any chance to hit the speed limit. Which is 100km/h by the way. We had the locals who actually could go 100km/h around these hairpin turns trying to get around us as well as trying to get used to being on the left side of the road to top it all off. A 5 hour journey turned into 8 along with the creation of some core memories (Or traumas depending on who you ask).
The drive up however was filled with scenery and views that I still think about to this day. To say that New Zealand is a stunning country would be an understatement. On the drive up, once we realized it would be a bit of a marathon trip, we decided to take a small detour to the Bay Of Islands on the east side of the island facing the Pacific ocean. I’ve never actually seen a beach quite as incredible as this one. The water was crystal blue/green and it was surrounded by little islands that circled around the bay. The islands were an incredible emerald green and there were just enough boats in the water and clouds in the sky to make it almost a fairy tale moment. Standing there with my feet in the soft warm sand is when it truly hit me. I was in paradise.
The Bay Of Islands was in my opinion the last major touristy place that you’ll hit until you reach the very tip of the island. For the most part, after the Bay Of Islands, we didn’t see much traffic until Kaitaia. Even then, when we got there, it was mostly local traffic leaving work and heading for home. Doing the touristy things are great but to really truly get a feel for a country, you have to spend some time in the less touristy places.
With little in the form of accommodations such as hotels, we rented an Air B&B that was located on a flower farm. With my new found love of gardens and flowers I figured it would be a perfect end to the day. And I was absolutely correct. There’s a lot of hate for Air B&B as there should be in many circumstances but the experiences that we had in New Zealand were all amazing and unique in their own way. They were all guest houses and basements that were owned by the people on the property too which gave it a more personal feel. Although I’m sure it’s much like anywhere else and there are a significant number of homes being bought with the intent of creating short term rentals, this is not what we personally experienced with our rentals.
Everyone that we met in the renting of these Air B&B’s as well was more than willing to help us with any questions that we had. The main one that we had when we arrived in Kaitaia after our marathon trip was “What’s the shortest route to get to 90-mile beach from here?”. She laughed and told us some great news. 90-mile beach was named 90 miles beach because it was… you guessed it…. 90-miles long. The access was just north of Kaitaia and we could be on the beach in about 45 minutes. This was a welcome suggestion as the thought of driving another 3 hours after that day was something that neither of us was willing to entertain. So, after a short unpack, change and turn around, we were off to see our second beach of the day.
90-Mile beach is a beach that you can actually drive on. Our poor little Rav4 however, was not blessed with 4 wheel drive from the factory so we figured it would be best to explore on foot. You walk through a narrow laneway that is made of soft, warm sand and once you exit you’re greeted with a beach that stretches as far north and south as you can see. No trees, no boats, no islands, no anything. Just the waves crashing against the beach. One other thing I noticed was the silence. All you hear is the movement of water. In and out, in a rhythmic, vocal passage of time. The sky on this side of the island was a stark contrast to the east side. It was overcast and the grey clouds seemed to emphasize the blue turquoise colour of the water. The mood was almost solemn and we both spent a long time holding each other in quiet contemplation.
With the length of our day weighing on us and our energy levels diminishing, we unfortunately didn’t get up to the very tip of the island to watch the sunset as our host suggested but we were able to get a little further north to Pukenui for a bite to eat. We stopped at a local haunt called the Pukenui Pacific and had a great dinner of Vegetable lasagna and Fish and Chips.
After that is was back down to Kataia for a nightcap and off to bed before heading back down south to Hamilton. If I had a chance I would love to explore this part of New Zealand a little more and really see what this part of the island has to offer.
My Avocado Toasts 
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