December 23rd,2019
Upon Braden’s recommendation I headed to Castlepoint, almost
2 hours from the lake where I was camping near Featherston. All I knew was that it was a nice beach with
a lighthouse and Irwin informed me via text that morning that there was a
possibility to paraglide there. The
drive was picturesque in the latter half, passing along grassy knolls, farmland
and the occasional stream. Arriving at Castlepoint,
a small villa by the sea, I wasn’t overly impressed at first. Sure, nice sandy beach. I
could see the waves were decent as there were a handful of surfers on the water. Off to the right was the lighthouse up on a
small promontory…but it didn’t blow me away by any means. Perhaps the low hanging grey cloud and light
rain didn’t help and I’m just getting picky having been in New Zealand for a
few months, the bar has been set high!
Looking towards the lighthouse:
I stopped in at the only store in town as I was desperately low
on Kleenex. If you know me, with my fairly
constant hay fever, I never go anywhere without tissues in my pocket. The store was a combination of corner store
and take out restaurant with fish and chips and other deep-fried items on the
menu. The store side of it was a bit
bleak. The shelves were rather sparsely
stocked and at first I thought I’d be blowing my nose with toilet paper for the
duration of my visit but luckily I located the 3 half tissue boxes for sale and
grabbed one for about triple the price it would have been in the city, but I
was happy.
I drove further through the hamlet, towards the lighthouse,
where the freedom camping spot was located.
It was tucked behind a sand dune and it wasn’t until I walked up the small
dune that I really got a sense of what this place was about. There was a sandy beach in a well protected
cove. The left side was a ridge of rocks
coming down from the lighthouse but on the right there was this massive jutting
out monolith called Castle Rock. Castlepoint
and I assume also Castle Rock were named by Captain Cook in 1770 as he thought
it looked like an actual castle. The
rock is an interesting geological feature that sticks straight up about 200-300
meters. I had to go check it out.
Castle Rock:
After walking across the hardpacked sand, I began to climb
the switchback path up the hill. The
wind was coming in pretty hard from the south along the coastline, maybe 30-40 km/h. The higher I got climbing up the side that
was facing inland, the slightly more concerning the wind was. I knew I wasn’t going to get blown over by
it, but it did make me tread trepidatiously.
I was the only one up on the hill and the views were stunning. Right at the top I did double over and kept a
hand on the ground just to make sure that a sudden blast wasn’t going to topple
me over as it was a steep slope and the grass wasn’t going to stop you tumbling! As I neared the edge, I even got down on all
fours to approach it. I was probably
over-cautious as a group of four males came up as I started to descend. It was one adult with 3 young teenagers. I noticed that the adult, who should be the
sensible one, was wearing flip flops…so obviously it wasn’t that bad, or he was
a bit crazy…maybe a bit of both.
Deliverance Cove: named so as it was a refuge from strong seas to some of the first European sailors to arrive there.
The coastline to the south:
Looking towards the lighthouse:
You don't need hair products with wind like this...
Looking down the cliff...maybe 4-500 feet.
Returning to Betty 2.0 via a path that ran along the
ridgeline instead of on the beach, I drank some water, dropped off my jacket
and went for the shorter walk up to the lighthouse.
It stands 52 meters above the sea and is surprisingly only one of two left in New Zealand with a rotating beam (all the others must flash I guess). Of course it’s automated, as of 1988. I started to climb up some stairs further out on the point and noticed and encased camera. A sign stated that there was a live feed on www.castlepointlighthouse.com. I quickly looked my phone and saw that my sister Sarah and stepsister Corinne were online. I texted both and sure enough they were able to see me waving at them…how cool is that?!? Across the biggest ocean in the world and there I am waving at seemingly nobody like an idiot but they could see me! I joked with Corinne that I should moon her but then a grandmother, mother and kid in a pram showed up so not a wise idea.
The lighthouse and Castle Rock in the background.
There's a good view of Castle Rock on the right.
Turns out I agree with Braden, Castlepoint is a sweet spot
in New Zealand and I’m glad I checked it out.
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