Cape Reinga

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Lore & Background

According to Māori mythology, the spirits of the dead travel to Cape Reinga on their journey to the afterlife to leap off the headland and climb the roots of the 800-year-old pōhutukawa tree and descend to the underworld to return to their traditional homeland of Hawaiki, using the Te Ara Wairua, the 'Spirits' pathway'. At Cape Reinga they depart the mainland. They turn briefly at the Three Kings Islands for one last look back towards the land, then continue on their journey. A spring in the hillside, Te Waiora-a-Tāne (the 'Living waters of Tāne'), also played an important role in Māori ceremonial burials, representing a spiritual cleansing of the spirits, with water of the same name used in burial rites all over New Zealand. This significance lasted until the local population mostly converted to Christianity, and the spring was capped with a reservoir, with little protest from the mostly converted population of the area. However, the spring soon disappeared and only reappeared at the bottom of the cliff, making the reservoir useless. Cape Reinga is generally considered the separation marker between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. From the lighthouse it is possible to watch the tidal race, as the two seas clash to create unsettled waters just off the coast. Māori refer to this as the meeting of Te Moana-a-Rehua, 'the sea of Rehua' with Te Tai-o-Whitirea, 'the sea of Whitirea', Rehua and Whitirea being a male and a female respectively. The cape is often mistakenly thought of as being the northernmost point of the North Island, and thus, of mainland New Zealand. However, North Cape's Surville Cliffs, 30 km east of Cape Reinga are 3 km further north.

Reader's Guide

Cape Reinga is more than 100 km north of the nearest small town of Kaitaia. State Highway 1 extends all the way to the cape, but until 2010 was unsealed gravel road for the last 19 km. Suitable vehicles can also travel much of the way via Ninety Mile Beach and Kauaeparāoa Stream / Te Paki Stream stream bed. The cape is also the northern terminus of the Te Araroa hiking trail. The lighthouse at Cape Reinga was built in 1941 and first lit during May of that year, replacing a lighthouse located on nearby Motuopao Island, which had been built 1879. In 1987, the lighthouse was fully automated and the lighthouse keepers were withdrawn. The previous 1000 watt light and its revolving Fresnel lens have since been replaced with a tiny 50 watt flashing beacon, lodged in their place in the huge lantern. In 2007 protests by Māori and increased tourist numbers led the Department of Conservation to announce that the public carpark and toilet facilities, which intrude on traditionally sacred ground, would be moved further away from the cape and extended, at a cost of NZ$6.5 million. The road to the cape, one of the last stretches of State Highway 1, was sealed following three years of work and include extensive roadside revegetation with over 150,000 plants to prevent erosion. In March 2009, the works on the visitor facilities were completed. Cape Reinga has a very mild oceanic climate (Cfb) with high precipitation and little temperature difference between the seasons.

Did You Know?

• Cape Reinga is more than 100 km north of the nearest small town of Kaitaia.
• The 800-year-old pōhutukawa tree at the cape is where spirits climb the roots to descend to the underworld.
• The lighthouse was first lit in May 1941, replacing an 1879 lighthouse on Motuopao Island.
• The road to the cape was fully sealed by 2010, with over 150,000 plants used in roadside revegetation.
• North Cape's Surville Cliffs, 30 km east, are 3 km further north than Cape Reinga.