It was raining when we woke up. Not just a bit of rain but pouring down once more. Luckily, we slept in a room in a backpacker and avoided the storm that night. However, the rain combined with Flo’s successful attempt of using his mobile phone as a hot spot meant that we had a very late start.

Details of the carvings on the bow of the wakas.

And then we only drove a kilometre to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Much of it is a construction site at the moment with big signs announcing a museum to be opened in February 2016. This made me wonder if the original treaty which is in the National Archive in Wellington at the moment will see a return to the town it is named after.

We took some time at the grounds. Instead of a cultural performance, we decided to have a guided tour around the grounds. After having lived in Wellington for three years, we knew most of the facts. I still enjoyed it though.

One and a half hours of walking around were enough for Flo’s leg as well so we just wanted to get some mileage down towards the North.

During a particularly intense downpour, we took a wrong turn and had to retrace our steps which annoyed Flo quite badly. So we only had a short lunch break at the roadside and then were off to Cape Reinga.

Riding towards Cape Reinga really gives you a land’s end feel. It is beautiful and wild. At some point, even the farmland stops and you just drive through wild, hilly land.

We arrived at the Cape when the sun was already low so it looked amazing. I took way too many pictures of its silhouette. In Maori mythology, it is quite the special, spiritual place. It is the place were two oceans meet or actually flow against each other and form swirls.

Luckily, the DOC campsite that we are staying at tonight was just around the corner.