To Land's End in the Car from Hell, March 31

Cape Reinga


Time is short. Linda and Brad say we must see Cape Reinga. There's something special about that place. Our rental 2002 white Nissan Bluebird is acting a strangely. The transmission seems to stick, often in a high gear. In a land where everything is either uphill or downhill, downhill is fine but going uphill gets slower and slower. Trusting that the car will last two more days on the road, we go for it. We're not going to let a car keep us from seeing that place. So from Paihia we drive north up to the remote and beautiful Cape.

Getting there is not too bad. We make it OK to the end of the "90-mile beach." After the busload of tourists leave, and a group of bicyclists on a fund-raising trip cycle back south, peace and serenity envelop us as we look in all directions. The blue waters of the Tasman Sea on the west and the Pacific Ocean on the east mix in confusion just off the point. We look south at the beautiful beach where we imagine Maori spirits walking toward us. Then along the coast just to the right of the lighthouse, there is a lone 800-year-old tree which has never flowered. Legend says Maori spirits slip down this tree by two springs. One spring cleanses before the spirits proceed on to their homeland; if a spirit drinks from the other spring, it returns to the living world. We observe the custom not eating or drinking there then quietly return south to the car and the real world.

But returning is not so easy. The car really starts having problems climbing hills, we creep up to the crests then accelerate down to get enough momentum to keep going. It seems we're being pulled backward. About halfway back, Henry stops to call the car rental agency. They assure him the car's just fine and offer no assistance without a mechanic's say-so. No, there's no mechanic nearby. So, we hope and continue, finding the least hilly route, finally getting back to Paihia for overnight. Then we manage to get to Auckland the next day. At the car agency, they offer to drive us in the same car to our hotel which is on top of one of Auckland's volcanoes. We turn up the hill and the car refuses to go any farther. We get out and walk the three blocks with our luggage to the hotel, happy to be out of that car at last, but also happy to have made it to Cape Reinga.