Waipapa Point Lighthouse

Waipapa Point Lighthouse

Waipapa Point Lighthouse

5 Rankers Reviews

1 Walking

5 Waikawa

Your Nature Guide

Marios Gavalas's avatar

Marios Gavalas

Author And Researcher

Nau mai, haere mai

Nau mai, haere mai

I'm Marios, delivering the best of Aotearoa's nature walks to your device.

I've personally walked hundreds of New Zealand's tracks and spent months in libraries uncovering interesting information on New Zealand/Aotearoa. And you'll find a slice of that research on this page - enjoy!

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Information

Waipapa Point Lighthouse

1 km return | 20 minutes return

Waipapa Point was originally named ‘Waipapapa’ meaning ‘basket of seafood’, but was changed by early Europeans, probably because it was too difficult to say after a few whiskeys.

The lighthouse was the last wooden one built in New Zealand and was erected in 1884 following the disastrous sinking of the Tararua. The first keeper was a Swede named Arthur Ericson.

Walking Track

Access

From Fortrose follow signs along the coastal route for 12 km to where Waipapa Point in signposted on the right. It’s a further 4.5 km down a gravel road to the parking area with toilets. A further parking area is at the road end below the lighthouse.

Track

Take your pick either side of the point and follow the beaches and rocks.

European History

The Tararua was an 828-ton vessel which sank off Waipapa Point on 29th April 1881. 131 people lost their lives in New Zealand’s second worst shipping disaster. Many died when the lifeboats were washed against the rocks, while others perished as the main mast toppled and capsized the hull.

Details

Feature Value Info

Organisation

DOC Otago

Central government organisation

Location

South IslandSouthlandWaikawa

Categories

  • Activity__walking_and_trekkingWalking
  • Free

Directions

To Coordinates

Coordinates

-46.6599674108561

168.847017192841

Latitude
-46.6599674108561
Longitude
168.847017192841

Nearby

Reviews

    Rating Count Percentage
    10/10 2
    40%
    9/10 2
    40%
    8/10 0
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    7/10 0
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    6/10 0
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    5/10 1
    20%
    4/10 0
    0%
    3/10 0
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    2/10 0
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    1/10 0
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  • 2.5/5

    First lighthouse keeper was not Arthur but John Frederik Erikson.

    Reviewed almost 4 years ago

  • 5.0/5

    Nice light house and we saw a really big seal

    Reviewed almost 6 years ago

  • 5.0/5

    Beautiful spot, with a sea lion right in front of the beach.

    Reviewed about 6 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    Very rough and lonely.

    But absolutely a must-do. We saw a lot of seals.

    Reviewed almost 9 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    Spectacular, violent beach, see the history of shipwrecks.

    My wife was making her way over the bluff to the beach and met a massive sealion coming up the same path. She gave him 20 meters of space and the encounter was great. Be sure to walk both sides of the light house. Stunning sea and breakers over 3 meters when we were there. Don't go down to the surf. Leave that for the suicidals and surfers.

    Reviewed about 10 years ago