Our itinerary for our trip around the east coast was to spend Sunday and Monday night in Whakatane, Tuesday night in Hicks Bay and Wednesday and Thursday night in Gisborne. This route took us along the coast all the way.
Whakatane was recently voted the "sunniest place in New Zealand" and it was certainly living up to it's name when we arrived on Sunday evening. We found a motel within walking distance to town, and set out to do some exploring. Whakatane is a great little town, right on the Whakatane river, which leads to the sea.
We took lots of great walks - up to the lookout, along the river to the sea, all through town and along the miles of Ohope beach. It was a beautiful day! We dined both nights at the Craic - an Irish Pub located at the Whakatane Hotel. The food was great, reasonable, and best of all, we could sit outside and enjoy the evening.
On Monday, we took Chris and Geoff's recommendation and had lunch at Julian's Berry Farm! It reminded us SO much of Krauses Berry Farm in Aldergrove. They had great sandwiches, and the best fruit-infused frozen yogurt - ever!
On Tuesday morning the "sunniest place in NZ" had turned cloudy and rainy. Not a big deal, as that was a travel day and we would be in the car anyway. We had planned on a picnic for lunch, so we were hoping to drive out of the rain at some point.
Our final destination that night was Hicks Bay - a small community of 165 people. According to all of the travel books, there was ONE motel in town, so we booked in advance to be sure that we had a place to stay.
Along the way to Hicks Bay, we stopped in the small little town of Te Kaha -
population 111!! It was time for a morning break and a cup of coffee, so we followed the signs to the Te Kaha Beach Resort - down a narrow little road, we found a huge resort - just like the signs said! It had a restaurant, cafe, shops and a huge hotel attached. We couldn't imagine how it survived there, but apparently it does. Probably due to fishing in the area. In any event, we enjoyed our stop there.
From there our next planned stop was Whanarua Bay, where Craig's brother Mark, has a bach. Mark and his mother, Ann, were there for the week, so we stopped to visit with them. The rain had pretty much stopped at this point, but it was still gray and drippy. Mark's bach is located over-looking the bay, with gorgeous views in all directions. We ended up having our picnic there, and had a wonderful time visiting with them.
Our next stop was at the Nut House - almost directly across the street from Mark's back. It's a macadamia nut farm, and in addition to lots of macadamia nut products, they have a small cafe that serves macadamia nut ice cream! So, of course, we bought macadamia and had ice cream!
The next stop was at Raukokore at a little Anglican Church on the point. It's in a beautiful setting. There are also a family of little blue penguins who nest under the church, but we didn't see them while we were there. Then it was back on the road for the windiest part of the trip into Hicks Bay. I had my wrist bands on, but it was still a pretty nauseating stretch of road. Happy to get to Hicks Bay!
We had a great two bedroom motel room there, and we made reservations for dinner there, as well. The weather was still a bit drippy, so we didn't do much exploring of the area. We watched the weather that night, only to learn that heavy rains and gale-force winds were predicted! Boy, were they right! I thought for sure that we would end up in Kansas! Or at least Gisborne! Not much sleep that night, but we all survived, and packed up on Wednesday morning for what we thought would be a very windy, rainy trip into Gisborne.
However, when Peter checked out, he was told that just 30 miles down the road it was clear and sunny! So, off we went. Following the guide book, we stopped in Tikitiki at a church there that the books said was not to be missed. It was a beautiful church, Anglican, but done very much in the Maori style, with amazing carvings and woven wall coverings.
From there we headed to Tokomaru Bay - another small town - which had been a bustling town in it's day, with lots of wool processing shops, a "freezing" plant, where the beef and lamb were frozen prior to being shipped to neighboring ports and a long, long wharf, where the ships had tied up. It was an interesting peek into the history of the area.
We had a morning coffee/tea stop at the Te Puka tavern. We watched boats come in, people riding horses on the beach, and one of the horses even came up the boat launch ramp!
Back in the car and off to Tolaga Bay - another beautiful bay on the East Cape. There is another long wharf there, and we had a great walk out to the end. Both of these long wharves were popular spots for the local kids who enjoyed jumping off of them.
Our final destination on Wednesday was Gisborne. We arrived there to plenty of sunshine and warm weather! We found a motel close to town and enjoyed a two day stay there. Gisborne is where Captain Cook first landed in New Zealand and has a population of 44, 500. The biggest city on the East Cape.
We enjoyed a wander around town and located another Irish Pub for a wonderful dinner.
Thursday morning we went to visit with Bryan's sister, Morva, who lives in Gisborne. We had a great time with her. I had never met her, and Lee hadn't seen her in years, so it was a great catch-up.
From Morvas we went to Kaiti Hill, where there is a very famous statue of Captain Cook on the point where land was first sighted. Interestingly, the statue is not actually OF Captain Cook,
but some unknown person.
We then took the car back to our motel, and took a walk around the river, to the Gisborne Museum. It was a very interesting museum, with amazing exhibits of both the early Maori culture and also the coming of Captain Cook and the resulting shipping industry. One of the ships to come aground at Kaiti Point was the Star of Canada. The ship was built in 1912 in Belfast. When it wrecked on the rocks, some enterprising person decided to save the bridge and the captains quarters. They dismantled them from the ship, drug them to shore, and turned it into a house. That section of the ship is now a permanent part of the museum, and was probably one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen in a museum. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures of it, but it's a "must see" if you ever get to Gisborne.
From the museum we went to the botanical gardens, then had a leisurely stroll back to our motel. I got to browse in a yarn shop along the way.
Dinner was at the same wonderful Irish Pub, and dinner was just as good as the night before.
Friday, we headed for home. It was dry when we woke, but very gray and cloudy, and not far out of Gisborne the rain began. We came home via the inland route, through the Waioeka scenic gorge. A much shorter trip than around the Cape.
We stopped in Opotiki and had a picnic lunch on the beach, (the sun was shining) made a brief stop in Te Puke, then it was home to Hamilton!
It was an amazing and beautiful journey around the East Cape, made even more special with visits to Geoff and Chris, Mark and Ann and Morva!
A huge rock in downtown Whakatane - you can see the opening through it on the left
John, me and Peter, just coming through the opening.
These are some of the steps on the walkway up to the Whakatane lookout. They are called a "vertigraph", as each of the steps depicts a different scene. At the bottom you begin under the sea - at the top are the stars in a night sky, and the rest is in between.
It was a long way UP to the lookout, but more than worth the climb! Coming back down was much easier!
This a corrugated metal cat outside the Veterinarian's office - very cute!
This is part of the walk out to the sea in Whakatane
Lee, John and Peter, opposite the monument to the Maori maiden who saved the canoe and gave Whakatane it's name.
A plaque commemorating her feat
And here she is!
Our dinner venue for the two nights that we were in Whakatane. It was interesting that after 5:00 the city is virtually deserted! Outside of a Turkish Kebab cafe, this was the only game in town! Fortunately, the food was excellent!
John, Lee and Peter, waiting for dinner
John and Lee found sunglasses with flashing lights! After many attempts, we got a photo with both of them lit at the same time!
A wonderful stroll along Ohope Beach.
Morning coffee in Te Kaha - at the lodge in the middle of absolutely no where!
The pool at the lodge
The Nut House at the macadamia farm
Macadamias growing - they are an incredibly hard nut to crack, but the Nut House sold all kinds of machines to do it. We bought ours already cracked.
Bananas!
The Anglican church at Raukokore
There is a family burial plot attached to the church and you can see the bay in the background - a beautiful site.
This was the church in Tikitiki. All of the wood that you see is intricately carved
The carved Maori baptismal font
More of the church and carvings and woven wall mats
This is the long wharf at Tokomaru Bay. Note the railroad track down the middle to aid in loading ships
We got a kick out of these fisherpeople! You can see the kids who were enjoying the hot weather and cool water
On the wharf at Tokomaru Bay
Jumping off!
One of the old buildings - built in 1912 - that was part of the sheep industry of the time.
Coffee break at Te Puka Tavern
Peter, Lee and John
This is the very long wharf at Tolaga Bay. It was a very hot day, but walking on the wharf over the water was nice.
WAY out there!
Heading back
The pier, sea and mountains
All of us at the end of the wharf
Another photo op!
Pat, Lee and Morva in Gisborne
Gisborne sculpture near our motel
The view from Kaiti Hill overlooking Gisborne
At the top of Kaiti Hill
The statue of Captain Cook that isn't Captain Cook
Expand this picture and you can read the story
John, alongside a painted building
Peter and John at the Rivers - our favorite Irish Pub!!
Pat and Lee at the Rivers
Dinner! As you can see, "pub grub"is plentiful and delicious!
Leaving Gisborne on Friday morning. A neat ship above the road
Lunch on the beach at Opotiki! Beautiful sunny day! We stopped at a cafe and picked up sandwiches to enjoy at the beach
This a seed for one of the local grasses - They are amazing! They reminded me of little miniature tumble weeds, as they travel the same way.
What a wonderful trip!!
