Spirits Bay (Kapowairua)

The name

Te Ara's entry on the Muriwhenua tribes says that Tōhē decided to journey south to see his daughter one last time. His people were concerned about his health and asked him not to go. Before he left, he told them "Ko tā koutou mahi e kapo ake ai, ko taku wairua," which Te Ara translates as "Your task (should I die) shall be to grasp my spirit." Te Ara states that Kapowairua, the Māori name for Spirits Bay, comes from this saying. Tōhē died later, near Maunganui Bluff.

The accounts differ on his descent, his reason for going, and what the saying was for. Te Ara calls him a mokopuna of Pōhurihanganui and Maieke of Te Ngake, and Ngāti Kuri's settlement deed lists Tōhē among its rangatira, while an earlier Te Ara entry, from 2007, calls him Ngāti Kahu. The beach management plan of the Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē Board, approved in December 2020, says his daughter Rāninikura had been taken by Ngāpuhi warriors. Te Rōroa's account says he had a vision that she was in danger. Saana Murray, writing in New Zealand Geographic in 1989, said the spirit would "surely pass this way on its journey to Te Rerenga Wairua." The board's plan, which credits Ngāti Kuri elders, says "his whānau made a final tribute to him by snatching his spirit as he passed through Pīwhane."

The spirit paths

Te Ara describes two pathways for departing spirits, one along Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē (Ninety Mile Beach) and "the other starts at Kapowairua." Ngāti Kuri's deed calls Kapo Wairua "part of the ancient pathway of the departing spirits travelling from the east coast." Ngāti Kuri, the Department of Conservation, and Te Ara all describe a stop at Manawatāwhi (the Three Kings Islands), where each wairua must "turn and see Aotearoa one last time." The accounts differ on how the spirits enter the sea at the cape. The Department of Conservation says by "sliding down a root into the sea below." Murray wrote that "A solitary pohutukawa on the cliff-face marks the spot."

The papakāinga

Ngāti Kuri's deed says "Kapo Wairua was the principal kainga in the district in the early 1890s." It also says that from the late 1960s Ngāti Kuri "were required to leave Kapo Wairua in order for the Crown to establish a public campground." The Ngāti Kuri Claims Settlement Act 2015, which received assent on September 22, 2015, states that the Crown "pressured Ngāti Kuri to leave the Kapowairua papakāinga they had occupied for generations by fencing off their living areas." The deed quotes the Waitangi Tribunal's 1997 finding: "The loss of the papakainga at Kapo Wairua is still most keenly felt." Section 31 vests Kapowairua in Ngāti Kuri's trustees as a recreation reserve of 230.5 hectares and a scenic reserve of 78.9 hectares, with a settlement date of December 17, 2015.

The campground now

Ngāti Kuri runs the campground and takes its bookings. The Department of Conservation posted an alert, reviewed October 12, 2026, that it "is not currently taking bookings" for Kapowairua. The Te Paki Coastal Track section from Kapowairua to Pandora, 9 kilometers (5.6 miles), has been closed for storm damage since a March 2023 alert that was last reviewed on September 16, 2026.

Ngāti Kuri takes bookings at kapowairua.nz and on 0800 837 254 from within New Zealand. On October 16, 2026, the booking site quoted NZD 32 for two adults for one night. Camp managers are on site from December through February and at Easter. Fires, dogs, fireworks, sky lanterns, and generators are not allowed, and quiet hours run from 10pm to 7am. The Department of Conservation says to turn onto Te Hapua Road for 16 kilometers (10 miles), then onto Spirits Bay Road. It lists Kaitaia to Cape Reinga as about 69 miles (111 kilometers) and 1 hour 30 minutes, and gives no time for the gravel. It calls the beach a "challenging place for swimming" that "can be dangerous," with the nearest surf lifesaving and coastguard stations over an hour away. At Cape Reinga, the department asks visitors not to eat food and not to bury or scatter ashes. The gates to its parking lot are closed from 8:30pm to 7am.