Where the Oceans Meet...

As you've no doubt learned by now, we're not really city people.  So, after we arrived in Auckland, picked up Dougie, and (of course) stopped at the tourist information office (here they're called i-Site's), we beat a hasty retreat out of Auckland.  Our first destination was Cape Reinga -- the northernmost tip of the North Island -- for a 3-day hike on the Cape Reinga Coastal Route.     
There's one private campsite/motel/gas station/general store/restaurant that provides safe vehicle storage while you hike and transportation to/from the point-to-point hike, so we spent the night there at Waitiki Landing before starting our hike.  We were unfortunately too late in recognizing the mosquito infestation that was taking place when we left Dougie's doors open while we prepared our dinner, which led to a mosquito genocide the likes of which have never before been seen.  (Note to Dave: definitely do NOT piss off Amy... she turns into a cold-blooded assassin when she needs to).
 

Grant and Buddy -- True Ultra-Runners!



As you're also starting to realize, we tend to have some wacky encounters... probably because we start some pretty wacky conversations with just about anybody... and this one is no different.  Staying at our campsite/motel/gas station/general store/restaurant, that very same night, was a NZ ultra-runner named Grant Jacobs, who was 20km from finishing his south-to-north run of the entire country of NZ -- both islands (although we do not believe he swam the ocean between the two islands!).  He started in December at the southern tip of the South Island.  He'd been running for 3 months.  And he was on his very last leg of the journey.  More impressive than that (to us, at least) was his dog Buddy, who'd been running alongside him the entire way!  (okay, if we're going to be honest, Buddy would occasionally, when very tired, raise a sore paw and request a ride in the baby-stroller Grant was pushing with his supplies).  In all seriousness, we were actually just as impressed with Grant as we were with his dog.  And he had that classic ultra-runner's humility.  So humble that he kept turning the conversation back to us and our travels, and couldn't even look squarely at the camera when we took his photo.  So we sent him off for his last 20km with cheers in the morning, and feeling a bit guilty that the rain had kept us from going for our own training run that day.
 

The last few miles of 90-Mile Beach



 But the rain was not enough to keep us from starting our 3-day trek.  That's why they make rain jackets, right?  We started at Te Paki stream and hiked the last several miles of the 90-Mile Beach, with intermittent sunshine and downpours.  After 4 tough hours of beach hiking in the rain, we reached Twilight Beach, our campsite for the night.
 

Amy is dedicated to her training...
even as we cruise around NZ







Now, if you're Dave, you like nothing more than reaching camp, dropping your 40-45 pound backpacks, taking off your boots, having a snack, and settling in for the night.  If you're Amy, you throw on your running shoes and go for a 10-mile run.  In the rain.  Seriously, people.  She did the same thing the next day, too.  Only that day, it was even tougher hiking, for 6+ hours.  She's nuts.  but it's pretty impressive and inspiring, too.  Amy's running the Boston Marathon 10 days after we get back from NZ, and she is very committed to making sure she's ready to run well.  It's also a great way for both of us to start any day where we're going to be doing a lot of driving -- a nice long run and a few hours in the car are actually a welcome relief. 
 


 But back to the hike... On day 2, we climbed up over some bluffs, and after a few hours, reached the Cape.  As we approached, we could see some odd crashing surf way off in the distance... the meeting of the oceans.  The spot just off Cape Reinga where the Tasman Sea (from the west of New Zealand) smashes up against the Pacific Ocean (from the east).  Needless to say, it was an amazingly beautiful lunch spot, watching the oceans collide.  And we can understand why this spot is sacred to the Maori.  We rounded the Cape and spent our second night at Tepotupotu Beach. 


The meeting of the Oceans... a very cool place to have lunch!




NZ wildlife... or home garden furnishing?

 On our 3rd day, we climbed up and over the politcally-incorrectly-named Darkie's Ridge -- straight up and over.  Apparently, NZ trailmakers hadn't yet discovered the beauty of the 'switchback' when they laid this route.  We also saw what we think was a hedgehog... because he looked exactly like those things you clean your shoes on outside some people's homes.  we descended into a pristine, deserted, beautiful beach called Pandora for lunch.  Our last obstacle for the day was a river that emptied into the sea, which our Lonely Planet warned us absolutely only to cross at low tide... Well, we couldn't really wait for 5 hours, because our ride was due to meet us well before that... so high tide it was, and some pretty serious flow!  And a good chance to practice our river-fording technique for the much bigger rivers we're likely to encounter later in our trip in the Southern Alps of the South Island.  A final 3 hours stroll along the beautiful sands of Spirits Bay, and our first NZ 'tramp' was in the books.
 

Pandora Beach... Another very cool lunch spot!