Cape Reinga

Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua
Cape
Cape Reinga is located in New Zealand
Cape Reinga
Cape Reinga
Coordinates: 34°25′44″S 172°40′50″E / 34.4288°S 172.6805°E / -34.4288; 172.6805
LocationNorthland, New Zealand
Offshore water bodiesTasman Sea

Cape Reinga (/ˈreɪŋə/; sometimes spelled Rēinga, Māori: Te Rerenga Wairua), and officially Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua,[1] is the northwesternmost tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. Cape Reinga is more than 100 km north of the nearest small town of Kaitaia.

In Māori, Te Rerenga Wairua means the leaping-off place of spirits.[2] Reinga is the Māori word for underworld.[3] Both refer to the Māori belief that the cape is the point where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld.

Cape Reinga is on the tentative list of UNESCO waiting to receive World Heritage Site status.[4] As of 2007, the cape is already a favourite tourist attraction, with over 120,000 visitors a year and around 1,300 cars arriving per day during peak season. Visitor numbers are growing by about five percent a year, and the increase is likely to become even more now that the road to the cape is fully sealed.[5]

  1. ^ "Deed Of Settlement, Ngati Kuri and the Crown" (PDF). www.ngatikuri.iwi.nz. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  2. ^ MITCALFE, BARRY (June 1961). "TE RERENGA WAIRUA - LEAPING PLACE OF THE SPIRITS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Te Ao Hou. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Cape Reinga/Te Rerenga Wairua heritage". www.doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  4. ^ All Tentative Sites[dead link] (from the World Heritage Site website)
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference HERALDCAPE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).