Cape Reinga - Giant Te Paki - 3 Amazing German's

I am off to see Cape Reinga today, and as far as I know, I should easily be able to hitchhike there and back.

With luck, the second car picks me up.  It is a grandmother and her granddaughter, who are super nice.  She lets me know she is only going about ¼ of the way.  I am OK with this.  During our 25 minute drive, we get to know each other, and she feels very comfortable with me.  Which helps, because she offers to ask her friend to drive me another 30 minutes.

We arrive at the gas station where her friend is and her friend agrees to drive me to her place.  So far, so good!

Her friend is much quit and mostly listens to music on the drive.  We do get a chance to talk about her work.  She works as a picker.  Not exactly sure what she picks, because I had a bit of a hard time understanding her. 

She drops me off after about 35 minutes of travel.  I say thank you for the ride and I say goodbye.

Now I am standing in the middle of nowhere, with only cows.  Cows seem friendly though!

15 minutes goes by and I am starting to wonder if I made the right decision as only a few cars have passed.

Nope! The next car stops with 3 young German guys.  I let them know I am on my way to the Cape and they straight out offer to give me a ride all the way and to hang out with them if I want for the day.  Hell Yes!

This is where an amazing day and 3 new friendships start.

Kye, which I am probably spelling his name wrong, is in the back seat with me.  He is a super cool guy and we talk about everything, from Canada, to travelling, to GoPro’s.

On our way to the Cape, Joseph who is driving says.  We are stopping here, want to come.  I say, for sure even though I had no idea where this was.

Another 10 minutes down the road, we pull up to these MASSIVE sand dunes. (Giant Te Paki)

Maik, Kye and Joseph rent two wave boards for sliding down the dunes.  Check out the video link below.

This is where I show my age, the 3 of them sprint up the first major dune.  I walk 1/3 of the way up and say to myself, “WTF! I am dying.” I consider calling my mom and my best friends Dave’s mom (because she is hot!), to let them know, this is my last day on earth again! But I have no cell phone reception.  So I push on!

I make it to the top of the first dune.  WTF! It is flat, not a peak and there is another even larger dune to climb.  There is no sight of the young, energetic Germans.  So, I slowly push on up the next dune.

OMG, I see Joseph.  I am almost at the top.  Another quick push and I am there.  I want to jump and down for joy, but I know if I do.  I will probably hurt my back, or have a heart attack.  So I calmly try to act like I am not out of breath.

Good news is, they are done playing and are ready to head to our next destination.

I do have to say, the dunes are worth every once of effort to climb them.  Do it, if you get the chance.

When we get back to the car, all 3 of the guys offer me water and food.  I first say no, because I feel guilty for all they have already given me, but they insist, so I take a few apples.

At this point, I no longer feel that I am a passenger, but a real friend and part of the group.

Our next destination is Cape Reinga and what amazing views.  We spend about 45 minutes checking everything out, taking selfies and group pictures.

When we done and ready to leave two people mention to us, the car lights are on.  Should be no big deal, it has only been 45 minutes.

Nope, the battery is dead.  We spend the next 15 minutes asking everyone if they have booster cables.  Then a truly good samaritan says he will take his battery out of his car, start ours and then replace the batteries back.

This works! And we are up and running.  Off to our next destination.

We than stop at this amazing beach on the South Pacific side and take our time enjoying the view.

We are all now done with sightseeing and we are on our way back.  What an amazing day!  I couldn’t have planned it, if I tried and meeting Kye, Maik and Joseph truly was the highlight of it all.

They drop me off right at my front door and we exchange contact information.  I hope I get to see them once again.

I say thank you for the amazing day, and we all shake hands and say goodbye.

There is one more thing I have to mention.  I offered gas money to Joseph and he quickly denied it.  This shows the true character of a good person.