19-Feb-2018 -- This point - despite being quite easy to visit, and close to Christchurch (the largest city on New Zealand’s South Island) - had been visited only twice before; the last time - by Rainer Mautz - almost 11 years ago. I decided to pay it a third visit, while on a mini-vacation in the northern South Island.
I began my hike from Motunau Beach Road, 500 m east of the point. Between the road and the point is mixed-use farmland. At various points in my hike, I saw cattle, sheep, and horses grazing (each in different fields). The point itself lies on a steep, narrow strip of grassland, with patches of native bush (mostly kanuka) forming the east and west sides of the strip. Just to the south-east of the point, there’s a prominent vine-covered cabbage tree - a common New Zealand native tree. Rainer Mautz - not being a local - called it a “yucca” tree. He wasn’t entirely wrong, however, because it turns out that both cabbage trees and yucca belong to the Asparagaceae Family, so they’re related.
After visiting the point, I continued a few more km southeast along Motunau Beach Road to make a quick visit to Motunau Beach itself. This beach - on the South Island’s Pacific Coast - has a prominent flat-topped island (Motunau Island) just offshore.