The Sea of Maori Spirits . . . and Fabulous Fish and Chips

At the northernmost tip of  the North Island of NZ, the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide, creating a maelstrom of roiling waters, scientifically explained and described by oceanographers.   Maori legend says it is there that the spirits of the recently departed climbed to the top of a tree and hurled themselves into the water in order to rejoin their ancestors who came to NZ from the sea.  I much prefer the Maori legend.  This is Cape Reinga, our destination,

We could make it in a very long day’s drive from Don and Judy’s  (9-10 hrs. on winding two-lane roads) but decide to break it into a two-day journey.  By the end of the first day, we’ve landed in Hokuhoku in a sweet, motel reminiscent of communes and flower children.  Uncharacteristically, there is no kitchen gear in our room but we are invited to use the communal kitchen where several of the owners are preparing their dinner.   We're also invited to help ourselves to the milk in the fridge – fresh from their cows!

A quick diversion into NZ place names.  An overwhelming number of places on the North Island have Maori or Maori-influenced names and are frequently repetitive:  Kerikeri, Katikati, Wakawaka and are so similar as to be confusing at best:  Taurangi, Tauranga.  Place names in the South Island are a lot more Anglicized – Nelson, Christchurch, Blenheim, Canterbury.  Oddly, there are only a few places that reflect the ancestry of the first explorer and discoverer – Peter Tasman who was a Dutchman!  Hence, New Zealand and Auckland.

The last 100km or so up the Northlands peninsula to the Cape is a big surprise to us.  The west side of the peninsula shows on the map as ‘60-mile Beach’ and we expect something like the Eastern Shore of Maryland or the Outer Banks.  What we got was more sheep and cows!!   We could see 60 Mile Beach but not one highrise, not even a house on the beach – nothing to mar the pristine beauty of this landscape.  Early afternoon we are there – looking at the seas roiling with Maori spirits.

Yes, the seas are really that blue and the skies that clear!

Off we head to Mongenui a short drive off the peninsula and down the east coast (not to be confused with Mt. Manganui which is near Tauranga, not Taurangi) and what is reputed to be the best fish and chips in all NZ.   Find a badly-in-need-of-updating motel with a million dollar view and gorge ourselves on what we have to agree is superb fish and chips. 

Maybe it’s all those good vibes from the Maori spirits who rejoined their ancestors . . .