Te Paki Giant Sand Dunes

Dunes occupy about 1,100 km of the New Zealand coastline. An impressive dunefield stretches 130 kilometres from Paekākāriki to Pātea on the west coast of the North Island, and several kilometres inland. Wide, almost flat beaches are framed by fore dunes, formed when wind-blown sands become trapped by plants and driftwood on the beach. If there is a ready supply of sands on the beach, more dunes may develop in front creating the wave like structure of the dunes. The dunes further back may be
stabilized by plants, 

or blown inland if there is insufficient  plants to impede their progress.

We engaged in what appeared to be the rather reckless sport of sand surfing.  Looking at the hill I thought one must be either addled or an adrenaline junky to consider this.  I must be both, guess who went first.  Right! Me!  All of them were younger than me, but with obvious more common sense.  It soon became apparent that sand surfing may look risky, yet was much tamer than first appearances, and still fun.  

The dunes are 17 kms from Cape Reinga.  A stream became our road with dunes towering above to the left and right.  The bus ride through the stream bed another first for me.