The Cape Reinga lighthouse is one of the most important landmarks of Te Paki, and stands on the edge of a steep rocky cape, lashed by the Tasman Sea (to the west) and Pacific Ocean.
Originally, Motuopao Island was chosen as the site best suited for the location of a lighthouse to protect ships passing through the dangerous, turbulent waters at the northern tip of New Zealand.
However, by the beginning of WWII, it was decided that the light was in the wrong location, so in 1941 the glasshouse and light mechanism on top of the lighthouse were removed and re-erected at the new lighthouse settlement at Te Rerenga Wairua. The remains of the original tower can still be seen on the northern end of the offshore island.
First used in May 1941, Te Rerenga Wairua was the last watched lighthouse to be built in New Zealand. Standing at an impressive 10m in height and 165m above sea level, it is one of New Zealand’s iconic landmarks.
The Cape Reinga light today is electric, with the last lighthouse keeper being withdrawn in 1987. It is now managed remotely by computer from Wellington.
The 1000-watt light bulb magnified by the lens system throws a signal of warning 49 km out to sea and is often the first light in New Zealand that sailors see.
For Māori, Cape Reinga is the most spiritually significant place in New Zealand.
An ancient pohutukawa tree and a lonely lighthouse mark this special place.
It is here that after death, all Māori spirits travel up the coast and over the wind-swept vista to the pohutukawa tree on the headland of Te Rerenga Wairua.
They descend into the underworld (reinga) by sliding down a root into the sea below. The spirits then travel underwater to the Three Kings Islands where they climb out onto Ohaua, the highest point of the islands and bid their last farewell before returning to the land of their ancestors, Hawaiiki-A-Nui.
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Everywhere you look in the surrounding landscape of Te Rerenga Wairua, you can find evidence of human settlement, hundreds of years in the making.
The Far North is the nearest in climate to the tropical home of the first Maori settlers. They could garden here with plants like taro, gourds, and yams. Forests, coasts and wetlands were abundant sources of food for hunting and gathering too.
Kupe, known as the great navigator, is said to have discovered the Far North when he thought he was heading towards a whale. In fact, he was travelling towards Mount Camel in Houhora. Kupe’s crew, upon landing, settled from Cape Reinga to Parengarenga Harbour.
Many places Kupe named range from Te Ara Wairua (the spirits pathway) to Te Rerenga Wairua. Kupe established Te Rerenga Wairua as the point from which his descendants would travel in spirit form back to Hawaiiki-A-Nui.
