Cape Farewell, New Zealand

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For the cape in Greenland, see Cape Farewell, Greenland

Satellite image of the Cape Farewell area. The cape itself is the very topmost land to the west of the sandy spit.

Cape Farewell Arch from viewing platform.

Clifftop walk, looking northeast.

Cape Farewell is a headland in New Zealand, the most northerly point on the South Island. It is located at 40°29′54″S, 172°41′07″ECoordinates: 40°29′54″S, 172°41′07″E, just west of Farewell Spit. Discovered by Abel Tasman, it was named by British explorer Captain James Cook in 1770 - it was the last land seen by his crew as they departed on the ship's homeward voyage.^[1]

It is one of the less visited of New Zealands major capes due to its remote location. The "Clifftop walk" (2-3 hours one-way along the heights of the coast north of the cape) joins the area with the beginning of Farewell Spit, and has stunning vistas of the Tasman Sea to one side, of the sanddunes in the northeast and of the towering cliffs and rocky, primal landscapes to the shoreward (east) side.

[edit] Geology

The cape and its cliffs are composed of late Cretaceous quartz sandstones. The erosion of the cliffs into fine sand carried on the sea currents creates Farewell Spit further east.^[1]