Heading home
After spending the night in another DOC campsite, I took off north until I could go no further.
The early morning start meant there were few others at the Cape Reinga carpark. They were preparing breakfast and failed to notice the occluded sunrise happening just over the nearby ridge. Golden rays ducked out from behind the dense cloud with a silver sheen to the water.
I had the lighthouse walk to myself and spent three-quarters of an hour peering out to the clearly discernible Three Kings Islands in the north and the Pacific Ocean smashing into the Tasman Sea.
It’s a dynamic location, although one usually cited factor, the wind, was missing.
There was no complex contemplation of heading down to the golden sand way below due to my Achilles tendon issue, so instead, I watched the pipits fearlessly hop about.