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The sunny east coast... |
Eastland - Hawkes Bay - Wairarapa - Other North Island regions
Via Highway 35 from Opotiki, it is stunning coastal scenery for the next 205 miles/330 km
around East Cape to Gisborne. This is ideal motorhome or camping country, where there are
small villages selling provisions and gas. Opotiki to Gisborne via Highway 2 is only 90
miles/ 145km, less than half the distance of Highway 35. This road cuts through the ranges
following the Waiocka River through the scenic Waiocka Gorge, approaching Gisborne through
the area's vineyard country.
The carved meeting houses of Gisborne
Gisborne, a city of just over 30,000, is the presents beautiful main service center for
the Eastland region. Its farmland. surf beaches and sunny, warm climate have long
attracted New Zealanders on vacation. An area of high Maori population, some of the
country's best surviving carved Maori meeting houses and churches are also found in the
area.
Around 62 miles/10Okm south of Gisborne is Wairoa. It is here that Highway 38, the
third route from the Rotorua region, meets Highway 2. It's 140 miles/ 226 km, from Rotorua
to Wairoa on Highway 38, with the highlight of the route being sparkling Lake
Waikaremoana, a gem set in the vast, remote, forested wilderness of the Te Urewera
National Park, the largest untouched expanse of native forest in the North Island. There's
excellent hiking and short walks througsh luxuriant forest, including the 30 miles/50 kin
Lake Waikaremoana Track. It's also great for bird watching, hunting, fishing, canoeing and
boating. Accommodation comprises a camping ground, cabins and a motel.
HAWKE'S BAY - Napier & Hastings
In common with other east coast areas, Hawke's Bay has long, sunny summers, well-suited to
the long-established wine and fruit-growing industries for which the region is well known.
The twin cities of Napier/Hastings have a combined population of 108,000. Both towns have
a range of motels, also camping grounds and cabins, bed and breakfasts, homestays and
farmstays.
The Art Deco heritage of Napier
Napier's man-made treasure is its glorious Art Deco buildings, all built in the early
1930s following a disastrous earthquake and fire which destroyed the city in 1931. A
sightseeing must in Napier is the beautifully landscaped Marine Parade foreshore with its
gardens and attractions.
The area's natural treasure is the famous gannet sanctuary at Cape Kidnappers, one of the
few such colonies in the world. It's at its peak in summer (September - March), and can be
reached by 4WD, tractor-trailer, or, at low tide, on foot. Hastings is the center of the
region's orchards and vineyards, with many of the latter having fine cafes. A special
treat for children is Fantasyland with fun rides and things to do.
How to get there: from Auckland, Rotorua is three hours drive direct from Auckland, or 45
minutes by plane. Both Mount Cook Airlines and New Zealand fly to Rotorua and coach
services provide land transport. Many international chains are located in Rotorua, and
there are also many excellent lodges, motels, guest houses, and hostels, as well as
camping grounds.
How to get there
Coach services run daily from Rotorua and Wellington, also the Bay Express (train) runs
daily from Wellington. Wellington - Napier takes 6 hrs; Rotorua - Napier takes around 4
hrs. Air NZ also runs a service from Wellington - the flight takes 50 min.
Hawkes Bay Golf
Hawke’s Bay is a golfers’ paradise and is home to some of the country’s most scenic golf courses, both old and new. The great local climate enables golf enthusiasts to go for a hit most days of the year at one of the many private (non members welcome) or public golf courses. Early in 2004 the newest, Cape Kidnappers Golf Course opens. It is a multi million dollar course that looks out across the Bay, providing stunning views from Te Awanga, across to Napier and Mahia Peninsula. Cape Kidnappers Golf Course is a sister course of Kauri Cliffs. Driving ranges and practice greens are available to prepare for the day ahead.
See Hawkes Bay Golf Courses:
Cape
Kidnappers -
Hawkes Bay
WAIRARAPA
Masterton is the main center of a rich sheep-farming district. The town has hotels,
motels, a motorhome park, and camping ground with cabins. About 12 miles/20 km north of
Masterton is the Mount Bruce National Wildlife Center, where rare and endangered birds and
other species are studied and bred. Here, you may observe the kiwi, New Zealand's
unofficial national bird; the giant weta, one of the world's heaviest insects; native
bats, our only native land mammals; also the takahe, a bird thought to be extinct until
re-discovered in the 1950s.
In the ranges to the west are the Ruahine and Tararua forest parks, long used by the
capital's city-dwellers for recreation. The parks are provided with a network of huts and
trails which begin at the many road-end picnic spots and rise through mature forest to
tussock-covered mountaintops. Near Martinborough, to the southeast, vineyards flourish in
near-perfect classic grape-growing conditions and attract wine buffs from "over the
hill" in the nation's capital-Wellington.
OTHER NORTH ISLAND REGIONS
New Plymouth - Wanganui - Mt Egmont (Taranaki)
New Plymouth & Palmerston North Golf
The New Plymouth Golf Club, commonly called Ngamotu, is ranked one of the top 5 golf courses in New Zealand, a must for every golfer to play. The course is maintained in great condition, and has generous width fairways lined with stately mature pohutukawa trees. Mt Taranaki is always picturesque to the South, and the Tasman sea to the North provides breath taking views of the magnificent coast line stretching from Cape Egmont in the West to the Waikato in the North-East. The course layout, initially designed in 1930, makes wonderful use of the natural contours, with large greens being guarded by unique black iron sand bunkers.
See golf courses:
New Plymouth Golf Club
- Hokowhitu
Championship
Getting Around
Coach and air services operate from Auckland and Wellington and there is a railway service from Wellington. Self drivers, you can rent a mini-motorhome, 4wd or rental car.
Budget Rental Car - Used and recommended
by Vacation Australia.
Vacation NZ provides custom planned, competitively priced tours & packages
Vacation Australia's "Kangaroo Kelly" has comprehensively golf and travelled both Islands in NZ over a period of 44 years. He not only knows the popular tourist regions but also knows the favourite places of the crafty locals.
Groups 8 or more persons
His assistant, "Wallaby Wendy," is an experienced travel buyer who individually negotiates the lowest possible price for your group. We assure you that your itinerary price will be the most competitive possible.
Go to Enquiries & Quotation for your custom planned, competitively priced itinerary