At East Cape

After the Christmas holidays, we reluctantly said goodbye to our beautiful vacation rental and drove along the Pacific Coast Highway to the East Cape, the easternmost point of New Zealand. As the name suggests, this road runs along the coast. With so many amazing beaches, bays, steep cliffs, and green hills, it was difficult to concentrate on the road. Whenever possible, we stopped to admire our surroundings (or because I had to pee again, haha...). 😉

There are no major towns here. The villages along the east coast are mostly inhabited by Maoris.

The road to the Cape led us along a bumpy, sometimes very narrow gravel road. To reach the lighthouse, you have to climb 769 steps uphill.

Even more beautiful than our actual destination was our campsite that day. Right by the sea, surrounded by mountains. In the evenings, we sat outside for a long time, wrapped in blankets, and gazed at the starry sky. Since there were hardly any disturbing sources of light, the view was incredibly beautiful!