The list of our favorite places in NZ is long, but one of the best days we’ve had here has to be the one we spent exploring Castlepoint. Castlepoint is a bit out of the way from most everywhere else but is well worth the trip. In a small area you get a little bit of everything from steep climbs, bashing waves, a picturesque lighthouse, a scary sea cave, cliffs, and stinky seals. It’s amazing how many places there are to explore in what is a pretty small area. Everything about the scenery here is dramatic, and we spent enough time to enjoy it at both high and low tides.
We arrived at high tide and walked up the trail to the lighthouse and then out and around on the reef rocks. The waves crashing along the reef cliff were incredible and we often found ourselves dodging the sea spray. Unlike Pancake Rocks on the South Island, you can get close to the edge here and really experience it! We then made our way south along the reef and then up Castlepoint Rock which dramatically drops straight down to the ocean below. However, the pinnacle of our experience at Castlepoint has to be the sea cave which passes below the lighthouse.
The sea cave is only accessible at low tide, and the trip out to it felt like some Greek Myth filled with challenges and tests along the way. First we had to navigate the reef rocks, waves (we didn’t really wait for low tide) and the slippery clay along the shore. Then, just when we thought we were almost to the cave entrance, we found seven seals guarding the path in. They did not want to move, and we didn’t want to move them. After several attempts to get them to step aside, we decided to just climb the rocks above them and see if that would work. Luckily, after gaining the upper ground they decided to move on which was especially fortunate because if we had to smell them for one more second we would have gone the way of Aegeus. After climbing up and over the seven seals we finally found the cave entrance. Stepping into the black hole we were blasted by a mighty wind (not from the seals or whoever was in front at the time). This cave has some lungs! If you aren’t careful you could get knocked over walking into the cave. Once inside, we realized that you can see the other cave opening on the ocean side of the reef. And you can also see the massive waves come bashing through and sometimes closing off the opening. And best of all, the sound of the waves is so loud that we were convinced we would be swept away or thrashed on the rocks–fodder for the giant octopus that legend says lives inside the cave. Inside, there are tons of little pools, eyes that look up at you from below, and stalactites hanging from above. We’ve never seen or experienced anything like it. Luckily, we survived it all, made it out past the seala again and lived to tell the tale. However, we did see a signpost for all of the “Lost Soles” that we can only imagine perished in the cave and fattened up that giant octopus inside.
