The gnarled, wind-stunted pohutukawa tree clinging to the cliffs below the lighthouse is one of the most sacred sites in Māori cosmology. According to tradition, the spirits of the dead descend the roots of this tree before slipping beneath the waves to begin their journey north to Hawaiki, the ancestral homeland.
The tree is said to be over 800 years old. Visitors view it from the cliff path; out of respect for tikanga Māori, food and drink should not be consumed at the viewing platform, and the tree itself is not approached.