North Cape, New Zealand

North Cape is located at the northern end of the North Auckland Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the northwestern tip of the Aupouri Peninsula and lies 30 km east of Cape Reinga. The name is sometimes used to refer just to the cape which is known in Maori as Otou and which overlooks Murimotu Island. It is also used to refer to the whole larger headland stretching about five km from Murimotu Island westwards to Kerr Point (Ngatuatata) and including the Surville Cliffs. This wider North Cape, and specifically the Surville Cliffs, is the northernmost point of mainland New Zealand, being about three km further north than Cape Reinga. This article covers the wider North Cape.

North Cape was once an island formed by a marine volcano. Sand deposited by ocean currents eventually formed a tombolo known as Waikuku Flat which joined the island to the rest of the Aupouri Peninsula. The headland and flat combined now form the North Cape Peninsula.

A large part of North Cape is enclosed in the North Cape Scientific Reserve. The reserve’s purpose is to protect the unique flora and fauna of the area, some of it endemic to a small area on Surville Cliffs. An electrified fence was erected in 2000 to create a mainland island by excluding the possums, feral pigs and semi-wild horses of the area. The reserve is closed to the public and managed by the Department of Conservation (DoC).

Much of Waikuku Flat is in another DoC reserve, the Mokaikai Scenic Reserve which stretches south to Parengarenga Harbour. This reserve is open to the public but land access is via an area in Maori tribal ownership and a permit is required from the controlling Maori body to cross the land. Another strip of Maori land lies between the Mokaikai reserve and the North Cape reserve. This strip includes the southern part of North Cape and the northern edge of Waikuku Flat. It stretches from Kerr Point and the north end of Tom Bowling Bay on the north coast across to Tokatoka Point on the west coast.

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