Cape Reinga is a place of high spiritual importance to Maori. They believe it is “the place of the leaping”, where the souls of the dead get together before entering the next world. According to Maori legends and traditions the spirits of the departed leap from an 800-year-old pohutukawa tree on the windswept cape to start the voyage back to their final resting place in the anciend homeland on Hawaiki.
The passage to the afterlife begins at Te-oneroa-o-tohe, known as Ninety Mile Beach. Spirits travel the length of the beach carrying a regional token such as a fern frond or manuka cutting. These offerings are placed on Te Arai Rock near the Bluff and the journey continues inland at Twilight Beach towards Cape Reinga, and crosses a stream. Those who choose not to drink from the stream return to the body, while those who choose to quench their thirst continue on to the gnarled pohutukawa tree and leap, descending through its tangled roots, to the sea bed. From here they travel t Ohau Island, the largest of the Three Kings Islands, where they resurface and bid Aotearoa (New Zealand) farewell before returning home. A clear day at Cape Reinga offers powerful views. The Three Kings Islands, named by Abel Tasman in 1643, are visible on the horizon while spectacular Cape Maria Van Diemen dominates the west. To the east the long curve of Spirits Bay leads the eye to the dark smudge of the North Cape. Directly ahead, the towering breakers of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide in a maelstrom of churning waves and spume.
Several fine coastal walks depart from Cape Reinga. Cape Maria Van Diemen is reached via the golden stretch of Te Werahi Beach, while to the east a track leads o Tapotupotu Bay - a popular camping and picnicking spot - and on to Spirits Bay.