Cape Reinga
Te Rerenga Wairua, The Departure Point Of Spirits In Maori Tradition, At The Very Top Of The North Island Where The Tasman Sea And Pacific Ocean Visibly Collide In Standing Waves Below A Solitary, Wind Bent Pohutukawa Tree, With A Lighthouse Marking The Northernmost Point Reachable By Road In The Country · Cape Reinga, Northland
Cape Reinga, at the very top of New Zealand's North Island, is known to Maori as Te Rerenga Wairua - the leaping-off place of spirits. In Maori tradition it is the point from which the spirits of the dead depart the physical world, travelling down the headland and out along the roots of an ancient, solitary pohutukawa tree said to grow from the rock below. It is a genuinely sacred site to Maori, not a scenic lookout with a story attached, and is treated accordingly - signage asks for quiet respect, and marked sacred areas, including the tree itself, are not to be climbed on or approached. The dramatic setting is a separate, real fact alongside that significance: below the headland, the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean visibly meet in a line of standing waves, a collision of currents that is one of the most striking coastal sights in the country. A lighthouse marks the northernmost point of the North Island reachable by road, over wind-scoured cliffs and, on a clear day, as far as Three Kings Islands offshore, roughly ninety minutes north of Kaitaia on an increasingly remote road.
The very top of the North Island, about 1.5 hours north of Kaitaia on State Highway 1, Cape Reinga, Northland, New Zealand
The Cape Reinga headland, lighthouse viewpoint and car park are open to the public at any hour, free of charge - there is no gate and no admission fee. The small Department of Conservation information signage is unstaffed and readable at any time. Guided day tours from the Bay of Islands and Kaitaia run on fixed timetables, typically departing early morning and returning in the evening given the driving distance involved. The access road can be affected by heavy rain or, on the final unsealed stretches some tours take via 90 Mile Beach, by tide times - a beach route closes around high tide and is never driven at night.