Now that New Zealand is at a pandemic alert level where we can travel again, but cannot travel outside the country, its time to explore the country, and if you’ve never been there then now is the time to visit Castlepoint, which is around a 2 and a half hour drive from Wellington.
If you have, like me, visited Castlepoint before it warrants another visit, especially in these trying times – it will soothe your soul.
I have been visiting Castlepoint since I was a young child, and I have distinct memories of travelling over farmland in the back of a Landrover to the Castlepoint races. These are held in March every year, tides and beach conditions permitting. It’s the only time of the year when Castlepoint is heaving, with the roads being closed to accommodate the crowds and the horses. It’s a great day out and there is something about the sounds of the horses hooves pounding on the sand, and the sight of the field heading towards, past and then away from the crowd, and the bright silks of the jockeys against the background of the surf and the lighthouse. If you are interested in timing your visit with the races, I suggest you check the Castlepoint Racing Club facebook page, to find out the date for next year, and if you are planning to stay over, organise your accommodation early.
The Castlepoint district begins as you drive over the forested hills from Tinui, about 45 minutes from Masterton. The windy road straightens out and flattens and you head towards the sea ahead of you. Once over the bridge, you will first see the Castlepoint golf course, and the tennis courts on your left. It’s a 9 hole course and is open to the public. Non members can pay $15 via and Honesty Box at the Whakataki pub (this is how I have always known it, but it now styles itself as the Castlepoint Hotel). You can stay here – they have various accommodation options including rooms from $65-$125 per night, or there are caravan/camper van sites. The hotel also does meals, and runs a courtesy van to Castlepoint – so if you decide to stay at Castlepoint, which is a 5 minute drive beyond the pub, there is no need to drink and drive. You can walk to Whakataki beach from here – but this is not Castlepoint, which is a 5 km walk down the beach when the tide is right.
Just past the pub, as the road hits the coast, you can head right to Castlepoint or you can take a left turn and head down the much narrower and windy road to Mataikona, where the road turns to metal and the coast is wild and remote. There are some pretty cool geographic features once you climb and he descend the first hill. From here the road clings to the coast until you hit the Mataikona river. If you are after a more remote, rocky coast with good fishing and diving this is the place for you. The road winds its way along the river and through to the back blocks of Tinui. You can bike from Tinui via the Rahui Coastal Loop through Mataikona to Castlepoint. Me? I ran it of course.
When you hit the coast to get to Castlepoint taking the right hand turn will see you heading south, with one more hill to climb before you finally get to Castlepoint (Rangiwhakaoma).
You know you’re there because of the sign, but also the pesky road humps which slow you down to 20 km, and also reflect the slower pace of life you’ll adopt when you visit this sleepy little spot.
Before long you reach Castlepoint beach and views of the lighthouse that dominates this seaside settlement, but also provides a landmark that draws you to it. The first thing I always do when I arrive is walk across the lagoon at the end of the beach and up the path to the lighthouse. The path leads up beyond the lighthouse via wooden steps, and gives a magnificent view not only of the settlement with its iconic New Zealand baches clinging to the shore, but also to Whakataki and Mataikona, and on a good day as far as Cape Turnagain in the distance. The path then goes down beyond the lighthouse where you can appreciate the power of the ocean as it thumps far below you.
Castlepoint is a place where there is a lot of weather – its not unusual for it to feature on the TV weather as the windiest place in the country. The thing about Castlepoint is that it has three distinct geological aspects, and depending on the prevailing wind, at least one of them will be protected from the gales (wind is too soft a word to describe it on many occasions).
If the southerly is prevailing then Castlepoint beach is your go to. This is the perfect walking beach, especially at low tide when you can walk around 5 kms to the Whakataki river mouth (you can go even further if you time it right, and the river flow lets you cross it). At the north end of the beach there are steep sandhills that are perfect for climbing up and sliding down. It’s also a perfect beach for running with hard packed very runnable sand.
If its a northerly or a norwester, then head to the lagoon, and beyond that ‘The Gap’ where the surfers hang in a southerly, as the waves pound through the gap. Depending on the ferocity of the wind, you can take the Castlerock track. You can make a circuit by either walking up from the end of the carpark beyond the church and follow the track as it winds its way up through the trees, and follows the ridge to the base of Castlerock.
From here you get magnificent views back across the lagoon, to the lighthouse, and south along the coast towards Riversdale. If you don’t have vertigo it is worth climbing up to the top of Castlerock. It is steep and rocky getting up there, but once you have made the climb it is relatively spacious, and almost flat. It would not be a good idea to venture up there when it is blowing a gale, and many of my friends won’t even attempt the climb because of the vertigo factor. You can head back the way you ventured up, or follow the steepish more direct path down to The Gap, and walk back along the lagoon. You can of course do the whole thing in reverse.
I’ve probably described Castlepoint, and what to do in inclement weather and in winter, so people think of it as a place to visit at these times. which in some ways is being totally unfair to Castlepoint, because in summer it is pretty amazing too. There’s great swimming (with plenty of choice in terms of surf or the stillness of the lagoon, where young children can happily play in its shallow warm waters) and surfing, as well as opportunities for fishing and diving.
There are a number of accommodation options and these can be found on Bookabach or AirB&B, but there is also the motel and camping ground, and camper vans park at the far end of the beach where there are views out over the lagoon. That said Castlepoint can be done as a day trip from Wellington, or any of the Wairarapa towns.
LIVING LIFE ON MY OWN TERMS 