06/07/2018 - Castlepoint Lighthouse

The night at Castlepoint was calm. We woke up before sunrise the next morning. While Tobi grabbed the camera equipment and went to the beach, I chose the more comfortable option on the bed with the trunk lid open - and so we watched the magnificent colors of the sunrise. Wonderful. So powerful and beautiful. As soon as it was fully visible on the horizon, it warmed us and the car up.
We decided to go for a hike opposite the lighthouse for the day. The goal was the 162m high Castle Rock, which was already visible from the parking lot.

The naming is based on a description by James Cook: the steep mountain reminded him of castle battlements.

The first meters of the route led us through a small forest above Deliverance Cove. When we came out of the forest, we had a clear view of the steep cliffs. However, we wondered how we would get up there? But the closer we came to Castle Rock, the clearer a footpath became visible. We followed the existing trail and climbed up meter by meter. Great caution was required as the path was relatively narrow along the steep mountain slope.
After an hour in total, we saw the end in sight and soon reached the summit. We decided to climb to the highest point at the beginning. From here there was a fabulous view: the vast blue sea in front of us and the coastlines of New Zealand to the left and right. Castlepoint Lighthouse and the cape it sits on were also clearly visible. However, due to the strong winds that made walking on steep cliffs dangerous, we soon turned back. We made a short stop at another narrow passage where we had a particularly good view of the lighthouse and Deliverance Cove. In the meantime, we even spotted some seals swimming in the open sea. Occasionally they dived down to go foraging. - Simply amazing to experience the animals in their natural environment!
After taking some souvenir pictures, we climbed back down. This went quickly and without incident. When we arrived at the beach that we had just seen from above, a sleepy seal greeted us. Completely relaxed, it laid its head on a rock and enjoyed the warm sunshine. Further back, we spotted two more of its kind and a surfer between the waves. On the other hand, we preferred to stroll back to the parking lot along the wide sandy beach - the water was too cold for us after all.
At lunchtime, we spontaneously decided to extend our stay in Castlepoint. The area was just too beautiful to leave after just one night. However, for the first time, our food supplies seemed to be running out. Therefore, a visit to the local general store was inevitable. The partly very expensive prices did not shock us. We bought six eggs for tonight's dinner and drove back to the campsite. There, we took advantage of the dry weather to clean up: take everything out of the car, sweep, tidy up, and put everything back in.
Then we packed up our cooking utensils and went to the kitchen. With the eggs we bought at the general store and coconut milk - we no longer had fresh milk - but the remaining ingredients, we made apple pancakes. It worked out great and was very delicious. ;)
After everything was washed up, we walked back to the car. Here we discovered that the lighthouse was illuminated in a different color every 20 seconds. - Either you count sheep to fall asleep or you count the colors that the lighthouse gets. ;)

The morning started again with a dreamy sunrise! However, we quickly realized that strong winds were shaking our Sam. Pillows and blankets threatened to blow away when the doors were open, so we sought refuge behind a tall wall. Here we managed to make the bed.
After breakfast, we drove to the lighthouse one last time. Completely alone, without any other tourists or locals, we absorbed the atmosphere. The place impressed us heavily! New Zealand has once again excited and fascinated us. Castlepoint and its lighthouse are truly dreamlike places! It was difficult for us to say goodbye. We would have loved to stay longer. However, our food supplies were now completely depleted ...

... for the very first time during our entire trip. Until now, we always had at least one emergency meal that doesn't require refrigeration. Soon it will be two. ;)

So we set out on the long journey back to civilization. We passed Masterton and continued northwards. In the late afternoon, we reached the sleepy town of Dannevirke, which was founded in 1872 by Danish and Norwegian settlers. We checked into a campsite and reflected on the past few days.

-

From today there are only 100 days until departure...