Cape Reinga

Cape Reinga (/ˈreɪŋə/; sometimes spelled Rēinga, Māori: Te Rerenga Wairua), and officially Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua, 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. Reinga is the Māori word for underworld. 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. 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.