Waipapa Point Lighthouse

Waipapa Point is low, flat and wind-scoured, with a reef running out underwater from a shore of pale sand and wind-flattened grass. The lighthouse is a white timber tower with a gallery, first lit in 1884 and built in response to the loss of a steamer on that reef three years earlier, one of the worst maritime accidents in the country's history. It was automated long ago and is fenced, so you look at it rather than climb it. New Zealand sea lions haul out here regularly, on the sand and sometimes well up in the grass beside the path. Southwards across Foveaux Strait lies Stewart Island, visible on a clear day.

What to look for

• The timber tower - a white wooden lighthouse of 1884, unusual among the country's iron towers.
• The reef - the low rock shelf running offshore that the lighthouse was built to mark.
• Sea lions - animals hauled out on the beach and in the grass around the point.
• Foveaux Strait - the open crossing south, with Stewart Island on the horizon in clear weather.

When to go

Summer and early autumn give the warmest weather, which at this latitude still means wind. Late afternoon light suits the tower and the beach. Sea lions are present year-round with no guarantees either way. Combine the stop with the Catlins coast to the east, since it is a long way to come for one point. Check the gravel road after heavy rain.

Practical notes

It is a fifteen-minute stop unless sea lions are about, and the tower is fenced with no interior access. The wind is constant and cold even in midsummer, and there is no shelter on the point. The final kilometres are gravel, dusty in dry weather and greasy in wet. Sea lions are large, fast over short distances and easily missed in long grass, so the walk needs attention.

Nearby

Curio Bay's fossil forest and the Catlins coast run east along the Southern Scenic Route.

Key facts