Highlights of the Far North: New Zealand’s spiritual home

It’s a pilgrimage every Kiwi should make at least once in their lifetime, and every visitor should do their best to include.

Read this story in te reo Māori and English here. / Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki konei.

A slender sand isthmus of shifting dunes and undeveloped beaches so long they’re never overcrowded, the Aupōuri Peninsula is also home to the most spiritually significant site in the country to Māori.

You don’t have to be Māori or religious to recognise that this is hallowed ground. A land of classic Kiwi camping holidays, epic road trips where adventures lie at the end of every windy gravel road, and journeys to pay respects to family and friends who have passed on. Here are four sites you won’t want to miss.

Cape Rēinga

You don’t have to be religious, or even particularly spiritual, to sense there’s something special about Cape Rēinga (Te Rerenga Wairua).

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Arriving at this most sacred of Māori sites after a long, lonely drive down the spine of the Far North, sun-bleached fields stretching towards secluded white-sand beaches on either side, I had the strong sense I’d reached some kind of final frontier.

According to Māori oral history, I had: the cape is where spirits last set foot on the Land of the Long White Cloud before making their way to their ancestral homeland of Hawaiki. As thick, white fog rolled in, it was easy to imagine them passing me by – the sea spray rising from the point at which the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean collide only adding to the effect.

The great Polynesian navigator Kupe is said to have named Te Rerenga Wairua, which translates to “the leaping place of spirits”, before returning to Hawaiki after a decades-long voyage of discovery around New Zealand.

He hoped the spirits of descendants who made New Zealand their home would be able to find their way back to Hawaiki by sliding down a root of a gnarled pōhutukawa into the sea and swimming underwater to the Three Kings Islands, where they would bid their final farewells to whānau before reaching their final resting place.

From the carpark, it’s a gentle 1km walk to the historic lighthouse and signpost that form the backdrop to many a visitor photo. Information boards en route detail the site’s history, ecology and cultural significance.

Spirits Bay

Nearby Kapowairua (Spirits Bay), an unspoiled stretch of dune-backed white sand, is also said to be a porthole to the afterlife. Its Māori derives from a story about Ngāti Kahu chief Tōhē, who is said to have told his people to grasp (kapo) his spirit (wairua) at the beach if he died after setting off on a fraught journey to visit his daughter.

A strong contender for New Zealand’s most beautiful beach, Spirits Bay remains secluded – in large part because it lies at the end of a 16km gravel road. There are no shops or amenities, so visitors make their own fun strolling along the fine, white sand, fishing, surfing and boogie boarding. The beach forms part of the three- to four-day Te Paki Coastal Track, which rounds Cape Rēinga before heading to Ninety-Mile Beach via Cape Maria van Diemen and the Te Paki sand dunes.

A basic Department of Conservation campsite wedged between the beach and native bush is a Kiwi camping classic, and freedom camping is permitted within Te Paki reserves, although not within 500 metres of formed roads or at Cape Rēinga.

Te Paki Sand Dunes

Northland’s answer to both the Sahara and the ski slopes, this 10km stretch of giant sand dunes must be the unofficial sandboarding capital of New Zealand.

Heading north to Cape Rēinga, a short detour down a gravel road will take you to Te Paki Stream at the base of the dunes, formed over millions of years as a result of volcanic activity in other parts of the country.

Standing up to 150 metres, the dunes are the highest in the southern hemisphere, so be prepared for your calves to complain as you haul your boogie board or other sliding apparatus to the top. Your reward: a free adrenaline rush that’ll have you hammering those calves again and again.

Most boarders stick to the same dunes, so if you’re after a solitary stroll, head off in the other direction. Following shifting ridge lines toward an ocean that glistens mirage-like on the horizon, you’ll feel like a desert nomad en route to an oasis. Or an astronaut on Mars.

Ninety-Mile Beach

It mightn’t live up to its name, but that’s the only thing lacking about this famous beach stretching from the small surf town of Ahipara to Scott Point, 5km south of Cape Maria van Diemen.

Its 55 miles (88km) are a swimmer’s, surfcaster’s and beachcomber’s delight – plus it is said to offer one of the best left-hand surf breaks in the world. Facing west, its sunsets are spectacular to boot, as are its star-studded night skies.

If a long walk along the beach has you craving some kaimoana, dig your fingers into the sand in the shallows in search of tuatua, or cast a line from the beach – decent-sized snapper can often be found not far from shore.

As an official highway, the beach is also one of New Zealand’s most magnificent ocean drives. Just don’t attempt it without a 4WD or checking the tides. If you’d prefer to leave it to the pros, join a coach tour from either Kaitāia or Paihia.

There are plenty of accommodation options along the beach if you’re keen to stick around for a while, including a holiday park, the historic Endless Summer Lodge, and multiple privately owned baches.