Not many sports days rival the Pawarenga united marae sports day on December 31, which features a raft of horse races on the beach. Photo / File
Not many sports days rival the Pawarenga united marae sports day on December 31, which features a raft of horse races on the beach. Photo / File
Within every community, you will find difference.
No matter where you travel in New Zealand, you will experience the highs and lows of life. Cities and towns which thrive in booming economies while just down the road, villages and settlements work tirelessly just to make it through the day.
Havingseen depressingly little of this great nation, I can only guess that Northland would be one of, if not the best region encapsulating this idea of life's extremes operating side by side.
But I think it's a pretty good guess.
When I was fortunate enough to attend the Pawarenga united marae sports day on December 31, I understood the true power of community and how without it, families in the Far North couldn't survive.
The crowd certainly wasn't far away from the action in Pawarenga. Photo / File
However, my impression couldn't have been more different after attending the first day of racing at the Millenium Cup superyacht regatta in the Bay of Islands on Thursday.
As the only superyacht regatta in New Zealand, there was certainly no holding back as five pristine vessels - Adele, Sassafras, Janice of Wyoming, Silvertip and Kawil - set sail in fairly quiet conditions two days ago.
From my vantage point on an exemplary Smuggler Marine amphibious chase boat, these giants were immense in their presence on the water. Helicopters, which circled above eager for the best angle from which to take photos, resembled large flies, buzzing around a particularly odorous carcass.
Superyacht Adele was one of five to race Northland waters on Thursday. Photo / Jeff Brown
If you don't come from money, it's quite easy to get slapped in the face with the obvious amount of wealth on show. Even as I was sitting on a $300,000 boat/car, I couldn't help but chuckle as over $50 million in superyachts cut through the water mere metres from us as helicopters hovered, poised for the money shot.
Barely two hours almost directly west, communities in Pawarenga and Whangape could have been in a different country for the complete contrast they provide to life at the Millennium Cup the Bay of Islands.
That doesn't mean to say that poverty, isolation and hardship does not exist on the east coast. Probability and common sense dictates I could drive 30 minutes in any direction and find an isolated community which relies on the land to survive.
From left: Tamati Rakena, Haimona Leef, Chas Leef and Katarina Campbell, four riders who rode around the coast from Mitimiti to Pawarenga. Photo / File
However, Northland's west and east coasts provide such a stark difference, it was only when I had experienced the highest wealth of the east and the purest essence of the west, that the difference was all too clear.
Much of the difference between Northland's east and west areas are personified in its landscape.
Northland's beaches are glorified for their uniqueness and travelling from coast to coast, it's obvious to see why.
Travel to Mitimiti, south of Pawarenga, and you will see sheer cliffs towering over expansive, harsh beaches. The tide is strong, unforgiving, but its views take you back generations to images of New Zealand before it was touched by human hand.
Travel three hours east to Mimiwhangata Bay, south of Whangaruru, and the landscape is almost changed in every way.
Glowing golden sand plays the perfect foil to the crystal blue water which laps at the shore. Rock pools line the bay, full of life and energy. It's not dissimilar to what you'd see on the silver screen.
The stunning setting of the Bay of Islands is the reason so many sailors head south to New Zealand. Photo / Jeff Brown
In spite of their differences, Northland's east and west coasts both share something very important which in itself, explains why Te Tai Tokerau is considered one of New Zealand's most unique locations.
Both lifestyles are only enabled by the rich resources of the land they live on. On the west coast, you survive off the land and the gifts it provides.
As for the east, there would be little reason for the millionaires of this world to pay attention to New Zealand if it weren't for the jaw-dropping beauty of its terrain.
As evidenced by the Millennium Cup, the Bay of Islands provides a virtual playground for sailors of all kinds to fall in love with.
With superyachts flying across the Bay of Islands for the Millennium Cup this week, it provides a stark contrast to the rest of Northland. Photo / Jeff Brown
Putting to one side the obvious boost it bestows on the local economy, events like the Cup reinforce Northland's and New Zealand's reputation as something other than the norm, something worth travelling to.
Northland's east and west coasts are two sides of the same coin. Completely different and exactly the same all at once.
