Manukau Heads Lighthouse

Manukau Heads Lighthouse sits atop the Awhitu Peninsula on the south side of the Manukau Heads. It was first lit on 1 September 1874 at 5:35pm. The original lighthouse was a wooden structure much like the one that stands on the site today but that structure gave way to a concrete structure that was completed in 1944.

The current lighthouse was constructed in 2006 using some part from the original construction in 1874. The lighthouse is open to visitors daily between 9am and 5pm for a donation. Visitors can take in the spectacular panoramic views of the Manukau Harbour. The drive up the peninsula also offers grandiose sweeping landscapes. The lighthouse overlooks the site of New Zealand's worst maritime disaster, the site where the HMS Orpheus sank on 7 February 1863.

I hardly had time to think when I took this image, we didn't know that the gates to the lighthouse close at 5pm so we arrived there at 4:45pm and realised we only had 15 minutes to view the place. After the scramble up the stairs this turned out to be the only image worth sharing from that day.