Rocky road to lighthouse without causeway | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

Castlepoint lighthouse is no longer for young and old but for the young and able.

The removal of the causeway earlier this year has also meant removal of easy access to the landmark.

Castlepoint Ratepayers and Residents Association committee member and Department of Conservation liaison Neville Zander and wife Jan have already felt the effects of the difficult ascent.

"We had friends come out and not want to go up," Mrs Zander said. "It is a bit difficult and the water adds to that."

DOC has applied for building consent to construct a pathway to extend 32m to the right along the rocks, beginning where the old causeway met the land, DOC area manager Chris Lester said.

Work to do, he said, includes "grouting concrete, levelling the track and building a retaining wall".

"We're looking for resource consent from the Greater Wellington Regional Council," he said.

As for environmental effects, he said, "there will be virtually none above the mean high tide level".

But Mr Lester admits at certain times the path will be impassable.

"In the long term there will be times when access will be virtually impossible," he said. "Fortunately, that only happens rarely."

Mr and Mrs Zander are disappointed about complications arising from the loss of the causeway.

"We're disappointed that it's gone as it was a great facility and was very much used," Mr Zander said.

"When going down it you could let the grandchildren go on ahead," he said.

"It was a novelty and great for families."

"It was a shame to not keep the new part of the structure," Mrs Zander said.

"It had only been there a few years."

Mr Lester described the causeway as "beyond economic salvage".

"To rebuild would have cost close to $500,000," he said. The savings (building the pathway) in comparison with saving the causeway are huge."

While the proposed pathway is still in application stages Mr Lester could not give a definite start date on construction.

The Castlepoint Ratepayers and Residents Association would like to see something started as soon as possible.

"Once everything has been cleared it should take about a week to construct," Mr Zander said.

"We would think it is essential before the next lot of school holidays."