Cape Reinga has turned from the lonely spot at the tip of the island and the end of a sometimes lumpy dirt road into the full tourist-circus thing....time to bail quickly and look for quieter places.
Pick some gravel roads and there's half the rent.
Add a few extra miles of dust...and the world flips back to normal.
Spirits Bay 15k's to the east of Cape Reinga is exactly that.
Scuttling the boots and bike clobber....
The promised weather-change drives us south....
The skies turn leaden and the ferocious wind-gusts blow the riding jackets into balloons.
Overtaking cars or even a camper becomes a matter of when one dives from Michelin-Man-Mode into the deflating dead-calm of the lee, the jacket and helmet suddenly slapping onto the skin like a sheet of glad-wrap.
Waitiki Landing, the northern-most outpost in NZ offering Caravan Park, fuel and food is a sorry affair....while there's fuel, the distinct lack of even frozen pies says it all.
Deliberately ignoring the "no vacancy" board of the Pukenui Motel results in a couple of neat units that were cancelled by a boating party just as I entered the office...PERFECT!
Ant and Tim cook up a storm, the picnic tables offer some fantastic views across Houhora Harbour.
Through the night, the wind howls and the rain hammers onto the roof.