One of the most beautifull walks on New Zealand's North Islands is the walk to Cape Maria von Diemen. Early in the morning we parked our car at the carpark at the Lighthouse. The beginning of the trail down lies just at the beginning of the carpark. Along the trail there are a lot of nice views of the beach and some Pohutukawas with blossoms. After a one hours walk we reach the beach and walk along the shoreline to the west. A small white dot far away is the Lighthouse. Three hours later at the end of the beach we have to cross a small waterstream. Barefooted we walk through the cold water. At the otherside we climb the hill. Behind this giant sanddune lies the Cape Mariavon Diemen. In the heat of the noon we walk uphill. Belia takes the shortest route, steep uphill. I take the longer path to the left. At the "back" of the dune is a plain full with shells. For a beach this would be quit normal but this plain lies 50m above seelevel. I see a sign with: "1 ½ hours to Cape Maria von Diemen". Belia walks down to me and we walk along. The trail goes down now but later we have to climb the last part because the Lighthouse is also about 50m above sealevel. A lot of trails lead uphill. We keep an eye on the lighthouse and we walk up. Around two o'clock we arrive at the Lighthouse. Sitting in the grass we enjoy the view of the island in front of us. We see the fundaments of the former lighthouse. The top-part of the Cape Reinga lighthouse comes from this island. On our way back we wanted to walk along the shore and the rocks. After our descend from the Lighthouse hill we walk up the sanddune. From the top it is 40m downhill through the sand. It's quite steep but we jump and glide with the knees deep in the sand. From miles away we can see our trail through the sanddune. And after a couple hours of shore-walking we arrive at our car in the parkinglot.