oh, god....a lighthouse...a beautiful beautiful card with a lighthouse...
This one here is called Cape Reinga and is shown at dusk (on cards, i sometimes have trouble distinguishing dusk and dawn....on this one, its written on the back of the card :P)
One of the many lighthouses found around the coasts of New Zealand, Cape Reinga is at the northern tip of the North Island.
It is believed that Cape Reinga is the place from which the Maori spirits of the dead, depart on their journey to the next world.
The northern most lighthouse in New Zealand was originally built on Motuopao Island off Cape Maria van Diemen in 1879.
However, access to the island was difficult and at times treacherous. Although a flying fox was constructed to take supplies to the keeper and his family, and also to make access easier, it was decided to build a new lighthouse on the mainland.
By May 1941 the new concrete lighthouse, complete with some of the fittings from the old Motuopao Island lighthouse, was operational. This was to be the last manned lighthouse to be constructed in New Zealand. However, due to war restrictions, use of the lighthouse was seldom until 1945.
Cape Reinga Lighthouse has become a popular tourist attraction and is a well known New Zealand landmark.
