East Cape Lighthouse

The East Cape Lighthouse is the most easterly lighthouse in New Zealand. It was originally built on East Island, just offshore from East Cape. It was first lit in 1900, but the location proved problematic. The island was unstable and cliffs were constantly eroding into the sea, and so a decision was made to bring the lighthouse back to the mainland. In April 1922 the light was extinguished on East Island and relit in December 1922 on Otiki Hill above the East Cape. This is the easternmost point on the North Island of New Zealand and we were keen to see it.

After leaving Te Aroroa, we travelled a few kilometres over a no-exit, narrow, dusty, gravel road to the East Cape Campground.

It’s an unmanned camping spot—really just a large grassy paddock—with an honesty box for payment of fees ($6 per person per night) inside this small building.

Upon arriving, we immediately commandeered the high ground, ensuring magnificent views of the sea. Being exposed, it was a little breezy, but worth it for the view.

After we unhitched, Garth, Dave, Lucy and I headed off to see the lighthouse which was only a few more kilometres further down the road. With a lot of unfenced pastures around these parts and an abundance of horses and cattle, it’s not surprising to find a few on the road here and there—sheep too, in one place.

Most of the road is unsealed, one lane only, and all the way from Te Araroa there were frequent road works and one-lane bridges.

The road ran along the coastline and although signposts indicated there might be seals about, we didn’t see any. It was a rocky coastline with lots of huge flat rocks—perfect places for seals to be sunning themselves, but we didn't see any today.

Eventually we arrived near the end of the road, where our climb up to the lighthouse would begin.

Upon discovering there was a “No Dogs” restriction (hardly surprising, but I hadn’t thought of that), Dave said he would wait at the bottom and look after Lucy while Garth and I climbed up to the lighthouse. It was a sunny day and too hot to leave Lucy on her own in the ute.

After walking through a paddock of horses, we arrived at the start of the climb.

800 steps! One way. And 800 back. Phew!

Half-way up the climb (or probably earlier), I questioned the sacrificial nature of Dave’s offer. It was hard work . . .  A couple we passed coming down assured us it was “worth it”. And as I was the one with the camera, tasked with bring back photographic evidence, we continued.

Eventually, after several rest stops to catch our breath, we reached the top. It was, according to the notice, a 25-minute climb, but I didn’t have my watch on to check. I must say, it got the heart pumping, and we were relieved when we reached the lighthouse. Thankfully, the majority of the way we were in the shade of trees, so the sun was not a problem. Over time, as memory fades, I will say it was a pleasant enough walk.

There were a couple of young guys up there when we arrived. They’d started the climb at the same time as we had, but after the first bend, we never saw them again until now. As they left to go back to the car park, we asked them to take a message to Dave that we’d made the top, and it would take a while for us to get back to him.

We rested up for a while, reading about the lighthouse’s history. 

Although it was originally manned by three men, since 1985 it’s been fully automated and is now controlled remoted by Maritime NZ in Wellington.

From this height, we could see another beautiful bay in the distance . . . 

. . . and East Island a little offshore.

I expected it to be easier going back down, but my legs are short, and it’s a stretch from step to step. Yes, surely it was not as difficult as climbing up, but harder on the legs. 

By the time we got “home” my legs were shaking! I am obviously not climbing fit . . . but happy that I made it to the top. The next day, my calf muscles were aching—complaining about the unaccustomed abuse.

Sadly, there was no internet access at East Cape—our Netspeed modem uses Vodafone—so we only stayed the one night. The next morning it was back to Te Araroa where we knew we could get good internet, and we parked on the side of the road for a few hours to catch up on some work while Garth and Helen headed south.

By mid-afternoon, we decided we would travel on to Tokomaru Bay rather than stay the night in the Te Araroa Campground. We thought we’d get to stay there at least two nights, and both Dave and I prefer to spend longer than one night in each place. One night only is never enough time to experience the surroundings, meet and talk to people, spend time keeping our work up to date, and relax. After a week of one-night stays, we can get a bit tired (and cranky).

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