Nugget Point – great photo location

Hike up the hill to get a superb overview (and photo location) of the Nugget Point and Lighthouse.

The lookout at front of the lighthouse offers breathtaking views over the ocean and ‘The Nuggets’ – rocky islets. The point is home to many seabirds, penguins and a large breeding colony of fur seals.

Wonderful place. From the trail and from Nugget Point itself you can watch the seals. A pair of binoculars would be an advantage.

Nugget Point is called in the language of Māori Tokatā.
In front of the cape, over a length of about 750 m, there are numerous rocks protruding from shallow water, the nuggets (gold lumps in the evening sun), which gave the name of the cape.
There is also a lighthouse (Nugget Point Lighthouse), built in 1870, located on an exposed point of the cape, 76 meters above sea level.
The coast is equipped with a robust vegetation due to the rough and salty wind. The Cape is home to numerous seabirds.Source: Wikipedia

From up here you can see the fur seals on the lower beach; look closely, because at first glance they are hardly noticeable in the seaweed. There are also said to be sea lions, black shearwaters and a gannet breeding colony here. Every now and then elephant seals and leopard seals can be found. We were lucky and saw fur seals and yellow-eyed penguins even in the meadow next to the hiking trail. The bird colony is too far away to be able to pinpoint the species.