Cape Reinga & 90 Mile Beach, New Zealand

My last adventure in New Zealand was a trip to the Northland. I stayed in Paihia, enjoyed an amazing dinner at the Duke of Marlborough in Russell, visited the northermost point of Cape Reinga, sandboarded down the dunes in Giant Te Paki Stream, drove down 90 Mile Beach, and marveled at the gargantual Kauri trees in a conservation forest. On the trip home, we stopped in Mangonui for some fresh fish and chips. On the trip to Cape Reinga, I thought quietly of my grandparents. Here's a bit about the spiritual place (from Wikipedia): "According to mythology, the spirits of the dead travel to Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua on their journey to the afterlife to leap off the headland and climb the roots of the 800-year-old pohutukawa tree and descend to the underworld to return to their traditional homeland of Hawaiki, using the Te Ara Wairua, the 'Spirits' pathway'. At Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua they depart the mainland. They turn briefly at the Three Kings Islands for one last look back towards the land, then continue on their journey."