Distance: 0.4 km (0.3 DOC hours) - Surfaced walkway - Easy terrain
Altitude: 19m to 120m. Gain: 101m. Loss: 20m . Gradient: 17 deg (Moderate)
Skills:

Surfaced walkway (2/9)
Gravelled / board-walked walking track for all abilities

Primary, mapped (1/5)
Formal route, on maps, principal access to hut or along range / catchment

Moderate (difficulty: 3/5)
Occasional moderate climbs

Easy (difficulty: 1/5)
Grass / prepared surface

None (difficulty: 1/7)
No alpine skills required

None (difficulty: 1/6)
No unbridged river crossings

None (difficulty: 1/7)
No alpine skills required

From 500m before the East Cape roadend a walking track climbs to the lighthouse. There are supposedly 700 steps (I lost count. Twice) but compared to what lies ahead it’s an easy walk. 10 mins each way. The lighthouse is not the eastern most point in the NI mainland – that lies on the beach below, accessible from 2km back up the road. However, it’s a great view, and for me was a good symbolic point to start a North Island or Raukumara traverse.

Note: Described in the reverse direction to your journey

Back down the 700-odd steps to the roadend.