Cape Reinga is a point of land in the extreme north of New Zealand. A lighthouse on the headland towers 945 feet (288 meters) above the sea. According to Maori legends, Cape Reinga was the departure point of Maori spirits. The Maori believed that the spirits traveled to the northernmost point of the North Island, and then descended through the roots of a certain pohutukawa or Christmas tree to the world of spirits below the ocean.