New Zealand
Castlepoint
A lighthouse on a razor-thin reef where fossils crumble from the cliffs into the surf below.
A reef of limestone extends into the Pacific like a natural jetty, and at its end stands a lighthouse battered by every storm the Wairarapa coast can deliver. Castlepoint in New Zealand's lower North Island is where the farmland ends and the ocean begins with no negotiation.
The natural reef walkway leads to Castle Rock, a 162-metre-high limestone formation that anchors the lighthouse at the top. Fossils of ancient marine creatures crumble from the cliff face — the limestone is approximately sixty million years old. A lagoon behind the reef provides sheltered swimming while the ocean side takes the full Pacific swell. The annual Castlepoint horse races, held in March, run directly on the beach — hooves on wet sand with surf crashing beside the track. The settlement has a few dozen holiday homes, a campground, and no shops.
Solo
Walking the reef to the lighthouse at dawn, with the only sounds being surf and seabirds, is a solitary experience that the remoteness protects.
Couple
The lagoon is sheltered enough for a swim while waves detonate on the reef metres away. The contrast between calm and chaos is the setting's defining feature.
- A natural reef forms a walkway to a lighthouse perched on a rock stack battered by the Wairarapa coast.
- Fossils of ancient sea creatures crumble from the cliff face — the limestone is sixty million years old.
- The lagoon behind the reef is sheltered enough for swimming while the ocean side takes the full force of the Pacific.
- The annual horse races run directly on the beach — hooves on wet sand with surf crashing beside the track.
No restaurants — bring a chilly bin of beer and a barbecue for the campground.
Masterton's Café Strada does a proper eggs benedict the morning after camping.
Térraba-Sierpe Wetlands
Costa Rica
Central America's largest mangrove system — root-tunnel corridors where caimans drift and roseate spoonbills flash pink.
Kabak
Turkey
A cove reached by steep forest trail where tree houses perch above an empty Mediterranean beach.
Girolata
France
A hamlet reachable only by sea or mule track — thirty residents, zero roads.
Rebun Island
Japan
Alpine wildflowers blooming at sea level on a wind-battered island at Japan's edge.
Ōpārara Basin
New Zealand
Limestone arches span a black-water river in a forest so dense the canopy swallows all light.
Mount Sunday
New Zealand
A solitary hill standing guard over a braided river plain — Tolkien's Rohan made viscerally real.
Lake Matheson
New Zealand
Tannic black water mirrors Aoraki so perfectly that reflections look more real than the peaks.
Denniston
New Zealand
A coal-mining plateau reached by an incline so steep that miners rode the coal wagons down.