Pencarrow lighthouse and Lake Kohangapirpiri

From Burdans Gate carpark at the end of Muritai Road follow the metal Pencarrow Coast Road  south along the rugged windswept coast. Watch out for the occasional quarry truck on weekdays. Vehicle traffic is restricted for other than park management or access to private property. Dogs must be on a leash to protect wildlife nesting habitat, and are not allowed south of the hill track to the lighthouse.

At low tide beds of kelp seaweed float on the rocky shore.  You will often see black backed and red billed gulls, shags, white fronted terns and oyster catchers.

As you near Pencarrow Head you can climb the path up the hill promontory for spectacular views from the historic Pencarrow Lighthouse.  You pass a child’s grave surrounded by a white rail fence.  Evelyn Violet Amy Wood, the daughter of one of the lighthouse keepers, died in March 1896.

Walking times from base of Lighthouse Track to:

Old Pencarrow Lighthouse       15 mins
Bluff Point Lookout                  30 mins
Lake Kohangapiripiri                20 mins
Cameron Creek Wetland         45 mins
Lake Kohangatera Lookout       1 hour 30 mins

The hilltop lighthouse, built in 1858, was the first in New Zealand.  The first keeper, Mary Jane Bennett, was New Zealand's only woman lighthouse keeper. She stayed in this position with her children for 10 years before returning to England.

Owing to occasional fog obscuring the light, the low level lighthouse was built in 1906 and still operates today.

From the hilltop you can head down across the farmland to the secluded inland Lake Kohangapiripiri.  Follow the lakeside track out to the beach and a little further along the coast to reach Lake Kohangatera.  Please keep to the formed tracks across the farmland and leave gates as you find them.

Both lakes are dammed by gravel and sand banks that are old earthquake–raised beaches. There are plenty of eels in the lakes which are wildlife reserves managed by the Department of Conservation. No fishing allowed. Now that livestock no longer graze the lake surrounds and the area is actively managed to control pests, you can expect to see significant increases in birdlife.

Beyond Pencarrow Head and the sewer outfall you reach the true shores of Cook Strait.  Ahead is Fitzroy Bay and the rolling farmlands of Baring Head.  Away to the south on a clear day you see Mt Tapuaenuku (2885m) on the inland Kaikoura mountain range.

On the wild coast between Eastbourne and Baring Head at least 40 shipwrecks are recorded.  Traces of most have long since disappeared.  East of Lake Kohangatera, the remains of the small steamer “Paiaka” lie beside the road.  The ship was wrecked in July 1906 with no loss of life.