Bay of Spirits (Cape Reinga)
Cape Reinga is located on the northern tip of New Zealand’s North Island, on the Aupuri Peninsula. Just 500 meters from the shore, dangerous waves rage as here the warm waters of the South Pacific meet the cold waters of the Tasman Sea. A white lighthouse stands on the mountain and every 26 seconds it lights up with a warning flash. The staff at the small post office will put a unique postmark on your postcards, but otherwise the wildlife here is a gift.
General Information
Spirit Bay, just east of the Cape, is a windswept secluded spot with amazing pale pink sand on the shore. In Māori, ‘reinga’ means ‘jumping-off point’: the Māori Aborigines believe that at the moment of death, the soul travels to Cape Reinga, from where it descends to the roots of an ancient hutakawa tree to leap into the Bay of Spirits for the final leap into the netherworld. This place is considered holy, and visitors are politely asked not to eat anything and to behave accordingly.
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The best way to make a trip to Cape Reinga is to come by special bus. It is also possible to get here on your own, but the journey will be difficult. The Nainti-Mile Beach section south of the Cape is particularly difficult. Although in reality its length is only 88 km, the road here goes along the beach: on one side there is the sound of the surf, on the other side there are sand dunes, from time to time you have to overcome a small section of quicksand. If you come by bus, you may be able to go down the dunes on a board.
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