Castle Point

This was our first dead end road trip. Usually, we can't spare the long drive to a singular destination but we'd been told that Castle Point was worth it. With the long Queen's birthday weekend we decided to check it out. After work Friday we drove over the mountains to Masterton in the Wairarapa region (1.5 hours) and stayed the night.

We headed out the next morning along a winding hour-long road for Castle Point. The day was sunny and warm, the only day between two weeks of rain. 

The main beach before the lighthouse was beautiful, and uncommercialized. Just a small convenience store to get supplies. Some small waves for surfing. 

We hiked the Deliverance Cove trail. The cove was named by a ship's crew in the 1800s that couldn't land in Wellington due to a big storm. They sailed up and down the coast, trying to find a place to hole up. When they were running out of water and food a small party came ashore in this sheltered lagoon and called it Deliverance Cove. 

At the crest of the hike the view opens up to the south, back down the eastern shore. Above us was Castle Point, named by Captain Cook for its resemblance to a castle fortress. Kupe, the first Maori explorer also landed here by canoe, prior to the European explorers.

The trail up to the top of Castle Point is more of a scramble and very steep. We left it up to Quinn, the littlest, to tell us when to turn back.  She decided to go all the way...

At the tippie top, looking back across Deliverance Cove to the lighthouse. A commanding view.

Quite a knife-edge hike.

Nice and easy does it on the way back down...

Back down off the Castle, selfie with Dad

Hard to believe we were all standing up at that little point just a little while ago.

We couldn't believe the girls walked all the way around Deliverance Cove and then up Castle Point. But especially that after that they agreed to walk to the lighthouse and back. After that final walk they were done, and ready for ice cream.

Wren's poses got more and more dramatic the more tired she became. I like this one. 

What a day! We drove back to Masterton for another night and then to the pool when the rain came in the next day.