Castlepoint – Wairarapa Part Three

Destination Castlepoint

The homeowners we were house-sitting for in Martinborough encouraged us to take the night off and explore the area.  We took advantage of their offer and headed for Castlepoint with the caravan in tow.

Castlepoint is approximately a 1.5-hour drive towards the East Coast of the North Island.

We had read and seen a heap of posts and photos of the iconic Castlepoint Lighthouse and we were looking forward to staying in the area for the night.

Accommodation

Options – Free Parking

There are limited options available for an overnight park at Castlepoint.  It is free to park at the carpark close to the lighthouse.  We had read some reviews and it did seem that we may be a bit too large to pull into one of these spaces.  We would have had to unhitch and our tow vehicle would, therefore, be taking up space.

The free overnight car parking facilities

We’ve not done the whole ‘carpark’ thing yet in our caravan.  I know there are a lot of opportunities to park for free and not all carparks are the same.  I have to say that it is not something I’m keen on, and viewing the parking area at Castlepoint has cemented my thoughts on this even more.

It is quite a small parking area and there were already quite a few campervans, vans and cars parked up and staying the night.  Seeing them all lined up right next to each other, you would not even be able to put out a chair, let alone just being able to open your door.

This would be an option for us, only if it is a last resort.  As mentioned, we may find an overnight parking area more user-friendly and one that could accommodate us without having our neighbours a sneeze distance away.

Castlepoint Holiday Park and Motel Accommodation

It was a no-brainer for us to book into the Castlepoint Holiday Park camping ground.

Their online booking system on the website is super easy to use.  Being off-peak, on the verge of winter meant that we could book a beachfront spot.  This decision was also made after checking the weather forecast.

Worth every cent to get a spot like this

Castlepoint is notorious for it’s exposed, windy coastline.  Some of the reviews talk about the blustery conditions and we didn’t fancy getting a sandblasting.  It was a beautiful autumn afternoon and evening which was certainly the icing on the cake.

Watching the sunset from our prime Happy Hour position…..priceless

The price was $18pp for a powered site on the beachfront.

We didn’t use the facilities much (except the odd trip to the loo) and they were spotless.  The managers have done a lot of maintenance on the facilities and grounds and are a credit to their hard work.  Some of the reviews we read mentioned that the camp is dated but hey, it’s an iconic family camp – not sure what people expect!

There was good WiFi coverage with our Wireless Nation connection.

Castlepoint

Castlepoint has been voted one of the country’s top 10 most loved beaches.  I can so see why it got this label.  It is a beautiful sweeping beach with high sand cliffs one end and a small community nestled on rolling hillsides on the other.

It is also home to the lighthouse which stands near the top of the northern end of a reef.

There is a small island known locally as ‘Seagull Island’ due to its large population of the bird.

Castle Rock – Capt Cook thought it looked like a castle

Castlepoint was named in 1770 by Captain Cook because he thought that Castle Rock resembled the battlements of a castle.  Castle Rock soars 162m into the air.  There is a walk through bush and over bridges around the base which is around 1.5hrs.  We didn’t get the chance this time to do the walk, maybe next time.

Castlepoint Lighthouse

The Castlepoint Lighthouse was first lit in 1913.  It is one of the last two remaining beam lighthouses in NZ.  The light flashes twice every 30 seconds and can be seen 48km out to sea.

The lighthouse keeper was still on the job until 1988.  It was the last manned lighthouse in NZ.  Nowadays, it is remotely controlled by a central location in Wellington.

The last manned lighthouse in NZ

The lighthouse is built on part of the reef that it protects seafarers from.  It stretches a whopping 1km out to sea and must have been the demise of the early shipping traffic.  Built initially to protect the ships sailing from Panama.

It was an easy walk up to the base of the lighthouse.  Not like the strenuous steps we had to negotiate up to Cape Palliser Lighthouse!  (See Discover Wairarapa – Part One).  My lungs managed stayed in my chest on this sojourn.  

The highlight of our walk was the relatively new decking walkway which continued past the lighthouse and provided us with panoramic views across the bay and beyond.

The fossils of the reef and the amazing rock formations surrounding the lighthouse

The reef exposed many shell and shellfish fossils embedded in the eroding rocks.  It appeared the entire reef was built on these sandy fossils.  The eroded rock formations looked like something from Mars.

Tinui

On our way back to Martinborough, we did a slight detour to the little town of Tinui.  This little unassuming town (and I mean little – only around 25 fulltime residents!) was the sight of the first ANZAC Service ever held in the world on 25 April 1916.

In 1914 there were over a thousand single men from the area who volunteered to go to war.  Many did not return.

The vicar of The Church of the Good Shepherd held a service in the church to commemorate the dead in 1916.  He led an expedition to place a large cross 360m high on Mt Maunsell which overlooks the village.  The original cross has been replaced but it is still in its original position.

We could just make out the cross at the top of Mt Maunsell (see red arrow)

The church has been moved to the centre of the town.  There is currently restoration underway.  The walk up to the cross is only open between 1 November and 25 April.  Unfortunately, we were too late in the month (by about two weeks) to be able to walk up Mt Maunsell to view the cross.  We’re keen to return to walk the track one day.

Click on the link below to view a video of the highlights of our overnight stay at Castlepoint.

Click on the following links to view our series of blogs on the Wairarapa – Part One and Part Two.

We’re full time living on the road in our caravan and house/pet sitting as we travel the length and bredth of our beautiful country.  Click here to read more about us.

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