I’m not sure. But I did fulfil one of my biggest wishes while in New Zealand, and I also went sandboarding, which, I have to admit, is much harder than it looks.
The Journey to the Far North Is Rich in Culture and Experiences
One of my biggest wishes in New Zealand was to visit Cape Reinga, the northwesternmost tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula, at the very northern end of the North Island. In other words, practically as far north as you can go. According to a well-known story that is almost impossible to avoid when talking about the beauty of New Zealand, this is where two oceans meet, although, more precisely, it is where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean.
The journey from Auckland to Cape Reinga is just over 400 kilometres long, but distances work a little differently in New Zealand. You don’t simply travel from point A to point B. The road takes you through vast green pastures, past thousands of sheep, and through small towns and settlements that would normally be very easy to simply drive through, but not in New Zealand. That is strictly forbidden for anyone who wants to truly experience the journey, because every place along the road to the Far North, even the smallest one, has an interesting story of its own and is just waiting to tell it.
One such place is Kawakawa, a small town that stayed in my memory for a rather unusual reason – a public toilet. The famous Austrian artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser lived there and designed the public toilets in his distinctive style: colourful ceramic tiles, mosaics, curved shapes, plants and all kinds of unusual details. He transformed something as ordinary as public infrastructure into one of the town’s biggest, if not its biggest, local attractions.
As I travelled farther north, there were many more small places along the way, but Kaitāia particularly intrigued me. Not only because it is one of the most important towns in the Far North, but also because of the strong Māori and Croatian heritage that comes together there. Croatian immigrants, mostly from Dalmatia, lived and worked in this area for decades, and the Māori called them “Tarara”, a name used to distinguish them from other Europeans. Croatians and Māori intermarried, formed close ties and built communities together, and traces of that history are still visible today.
I found it particularly fascinating to see Croatian surnames on local landmarks and bridges, such as Jerkovits Bridge. It was a rather unusual, and even proud, feeling to see Croatian surnames and three languages side by side in a small town so incredibly far from Croatia. And that is exactly why the journey to Cape Reinga is not something you should simply “get through”.
Ah, Those “Oceans”…
If you stop in even just a few places along the way, an entire day can easily pass, so you really do need to leave Auckland early in the morning. After only a few hours and a couple of stops, you realise that Cape Reinga is not the only part of the journey worth remembering.
And then, after hours and hours of driving, you finally reach that famous cape. The road towards it takes you through an incredible landscape of enormous, almost surreal beaches, cliffs and open sea stretching as far as the eye can see. Access to some of these beaches is restricted or prohibited, primarily to protect the natural environment, but also because of the dangers involved – the cliffs are extremely steep and the waves crashing against the shore are incredibly powerful.
Walking towards the famous sight of the “two oceans colliding” is not easy, but the anticipation makes the walk feel much easier. And this is what it looks like: an enormous expanse of open water, most of it completely calm, until you reach one particular area where the waves collide with one another. They crash, rise, break apart and roll back again, almost as though you were watching them in slow motion.
There was nothing else for me to do but sit on the edge of the cliff and watch.
Do Two Oceans Really Collide There?
The answer is actually a little more complicated than it sounds, and it is also the subject of endless debate.
At Cape Reinga, the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean really do meet. It is not simply a story invented for tourists. Different ocean currents meet in this area, and their movement, combined with the waves, tides and underwater topography, creates the enormous turbulence visible from the cape, a sight that looks incredibly powerful.
So, if we want to be scientifically precise, I wasn’t standing in front of some magical boundary between two oceans. But I was standing in a place where their waters and different currents meet.
And considering the view, that was more than enough for me! Whatever we choose to call it, the sight is magnificent.
Time for… Sandboarding!
On the way back, I had to stop at the Te Paki Sand Dunes, the best place for sandboarding in New Zealand. Of course I tried it. And of course I immediately realised that it is much harder than it looks.
The dunes are enormous, and what looks from the bottom like a perfectly manageable slope turns into a serious physical challenge once you start climbing towards the top. The sand is firm and compacted, yet in some places your feet still sink into it. At not even 50 kilograms, however, my board clearly wasn’t sliding quite the way I had imagined. There wasn’t enough momentum, but I still managed something. Enough to say that I went down the sand dunes on a board in New Zealand… or at least that I tried.
After that, it was time to head south again. The New Zealand twilight, long roads, the occasional palm tree appearing by the roadside and swaying in the warm wind, surroundings completely different from everything I had seen before – and that familiar traveller’s state of mind when you no longer even know how many kilometres you have travelled. You simply look around and absorb everything passing by.
A Little bit of Ghetto, a Little bit of Charm
Outside a shopping centre in Kaitāia, I once again felt as though I had walked into a scene from a movie. Palm trees, Māori walking through town, shops, cars and architecture – everything felt completely different from Auckland, but also from what I had imagined New Zealand would look like before my trip. There was a certain “ghetto” vibe to the place, which isn’t entirely far from reality. After all, it is a small, isolated provincial town in the Far North, facing severe economic deprivation, high unemployment and visible social challenges, including problems with drugs, prostitution and gang presence.
After that, my journey took me to Kerikeri, and by then it was well and truly dark. Kerikeri is another charming little New Zealand town, but unlike Kawakawa and Kaitāia, it feels somewhat more “fancy”. What particularly delighted me there was visiting a small museum the following day. Among the records, documents and illustrations on display were depictions of Māori people, and what especially caught my eye were those shown wearing garments featuring red and white checkered pattern.
By the time I headed south again, my mind was full of impressions, and Cape Reinga had definitely lived up to all my expectations.
Although it had been my main destination, I ended up seeing far more along the way than I had originally planned.
I think that is exactly what I love most about this kind of travel: you set off towards one specific point on a map, but so many things surprise you along the way that, in the end, the destination you thought was the main goal becomes becomes just one small part of an entire ocean of beautiful experiences.
Hrvatska verzija/Croatian version
Jesam li uistinu vidjela spajanje dvaju oceana na Novom Zelandu?
Nisam sigurna. Ali sam si ostvarila jednu od najvećih želja koje sam imala na Novom Zelandu, a pritom sam i sandboardala, što je, moram priznati, puno teže nego što izgleda.
Put do vrha sjevera je kulturno i iskustveno prebogat
Jedna od mojih najvećih želja na Novom Zelandu bila je otići na Cape Reingu, najsjeverozapadniji vrh poluotoka Aupōuri, na samom sjevernom kraju Sjevernog otoka. Dakle, praktički – najsjevernije što možete otići. Ondje se, prema poznatoj priči koja je gotovo neizostavna kada se priča o ljepotama Novog Zelanda, susreću dva oceana, ali je zapravo riječ o Tasmanovom moru i Tihom oceanu.
Put od Aucklanda do Cape Reinge dug je nešto više od 400 kilometara, ali na Novom Zelandu kilometri ipak funkcioniraju drugačije. Ne putuje se samo od točke A do točke B. Cesta vodi kroz goleme zelene pašnjake, pored tisuća ovaca, kroz male gradove i mjesta kroz koja bi se inače vrlo lako moglo proći, ali ne i na Novom Zelandu. Ondje je to strogo zabranjeno svakome tko želi u potpunosti iskusiti putovanje jer svako mjesto na putu do vrha sjevera, pa i ono najmanje, nosi svoju zanimljivu priču i jedva čeka da ju ispriča.
Jedno od takvih mjesta je Kawakawa, mali gradić koji je meni ostao u sjećanju po vrlo neobičnoj stvari – toaletu. Naime, ondje je živio poznati austrijski umjetnik i arhitekt Friedensreich Hundertwasser, koji je projektirao javni WC u svom prepoznatljivom stilu – šarene keramičke pločice, mozaici, zaobljeni oblici, biljke i razni neobični detalji koji su pretvorili nešto što je inače sasvim obična gradska infrastruktura u jednu od najvećih, ako ne i najveću lokalnu atrakciju u gradu.
Kako se išlo sjevernije, bilo je još mnogo malih mjesta na putu, ali mene je posebno zaintrigirala Kaitāia. Ne samo zato što je jedan od važnijih gradova na krajnjem sjeveru, nego i zbog snažnog Māori i hrvatskog nasljeđa koje se ondje susreće. Naime, hrvatski doseljenici, uglavnom iz Dalmacije, desetljećima su živjeli i radili na ovom području, a Māori su ih nazivali “Tarare”, nazivom kojim su ih razlikovali od ostalih Europljana. Hrvati i Māori međusobno su se ženili, povezivali i stvarali zajednice, a tragovi te povijesti i danas su vidljivi. Meni je bilo posebno zanimljivo vidjeti hrvatska prezimena na nekim lokalnim mjestima i mostovima, poput Jerkovits Bridgea. Bio je poprilično neobičan, pa i ponosan osjećaj vidjeti hrvatska prezimena i trojezičnost u jednom malom gradiću toliko dalekom od Hrvatske. Eto zato put do Cape Reinge nije nešto što treba samo “odraditi”.
Ah, ti “oceani”…
Ako se putem zaustavite u barem nekoliko mjesta, vrlo lako prođe cijeli dan, pa je iz Aucklanda stvarno potrebno krenuti rano ujutro. Već nakon nekoliko sati i par stajanja shvatiš da Cape Reinga nije jedini dio putovanja koji vrijedi pamtiti. A onda, nakon sati i sati vožnje, napokon na red dolazi i taj famozni rt. Put prema njemu vodi kroz nevjerojatan krajolik, a to su ogromne, gotovo nestvarne plaže, litice i otvoreno more koje se pruža dokle god pogled seže. Na neke od tih plaža pristup je ograničen ili zabranjen, prije svega zbog zaštite prirode, a onda i zbog njezine opasnosti (litice su jako strme, a valovi koji udaraju obalu izuzetno snažni).
Hodanje prema prizoru “sudaranja dvaju oceana” nije lako, ali put olakšava sveprisutno iščekivanje tog prizora. A evo kako izgleda – ogromna je to pučina, na kojoj je veći dio mora potpuno miran, a onda se na jednom dijelu valovi sudaraju jedni o druge. Lupaju, podižu se, razbijaju i vraćaju natrag gotovo kao u usporenoj snimci. Nije mi preostalo ništa drugo nego sjesti na rub litice i gledati u taj prizor.
Sudaraju li se ondje uistinu dva oceana?
Odgovor je zapravo malo kompliciraniji nego što zvuči, a i predmet vječnih rasprava. Naime, na Cape Reingi doista se susreću Tasmanovo more i Tihi ocean. To nije izmišljena priča napravljena samo za turiste. Na tom području susreću se različite morske struje, a njihovo kretanje, zajedno s valovima, plimom i podmorskim reljefom, stvara ono ogromno komešanje vode koje se može vidjeti s rta i koje izgleda premoćno.
Dakle, ako ćemo biti znanstveno precizni, nisam stajala pred nekom čarobnom granicom između dva oceana, ali jesam stajala na mjestu na kojem se susreću njihove vode i različite struje. Ali s obzirom na prizor, meni je to bilo i više nego dovoljno! Jer, kako god to nazvali, prizor je veličanstven.
Vrijeme za… sandboarding!
Na putu natrag morala sam se zaustaviti na Te Paki pješčanim dinama – najboljem mjestu za sandboarding na Novom Zelandu. Naravno da sam probala. I naravno da sam odmah shvatila da je to puno teže nego što izgleda. Dine su ogromne, a ono što s dna izgleda kao sasvim pristojna uzbrdica, kada krenete prema vrhu, postane ozbiljan fizički napor. Pijesak je tvrd, utaban, a opet na nekim dijelovima noge propadaju u njega. S mojih ni 50 kilograma, međutim, daska očigledno nije baš klizila kako sam zamišljala, nije bilo dovoljnog upošita, ali nešto sam ipak uspjela. Dovoljno da mogu reći da sam se na Novom Zelandu spuštala niz dine na dasci… ili makar probala.
Nakon toga uslijedio je povratak prema jugu. Novozelandski sumrak, duge ceste, pokoja palma koja se pojavi uz cestu i vijori na toplom vjetru, potpuno drugačije okruženje od svega viđenog do tada i ono poznato putničko stanje u kojem više ni ne znaš koliko si kilometara prešao, već samo gledaš oko sebe i upijaš sve što prolazi.
Malo ghetta, malo šarma
U Kaitāiji ispred trgovačkog centra, ponovno sam imala osjećaj da sam ušetala u neku filmsku scenu. Palme, Māori koji prolaze gradom, trgovine, automobili i arhitektura, sve je djelovalo potpuno drugačije od Aucklanda, ali i od onoga što sam zamišljala kada sam prije puta razmišljala o Novom Zelandu. Nekako je sve odisalo “ghetto” vibrom, što i nije daleko od istine. Ipak je to mali, izolirani provincijski grad na dalekom sjeveru koji se suočava s teškom ekonomskom deprivacijom, visokom stopom nezaposlenosti i na oko vidljivim društvenim izazovima poput problema s drogom, prostitucijom i prisutnosti bandi.
Nakon toga put me odveo u Kerikeri, i tad je već debelo pao mrak. Kerikeri je još jedan šarmantni mali novozelandski gradić, ali za razliku od Kawekawe i Kaitāije, ipak je “ušminkaniji”. Ono što me posebno oduševilo ondje jest kada sam sljedeći dan posjetila jedan mali muzej u kojemu se, među izloženim zapisima, dokumentima i ilustracijama nalaze i prikazi Māora, među kojima su mi posebno za oko zapeli oni odjeveni u odore s crveno-bijelim kockicama.
Pri povratku na jug bila sam puna dojmova, a Cape Reinga definitivno je opravdao sva moja očekivanja… Iako mi je to bio primarni cilj, putem sam vidjela i puno više nego što sam planirala. Mislim da je upravo to ono što mi se najviše sviđa kod ovakvih putovanja – kreneš prema jednom zacrtanom mjestu na karti, a putem te iznenadi toliko toga da je na kraju najveći cilj bio tek mali dio cijelog oceana prekrasnih iskustava.
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