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Gisborne Wineries "Our Pick"
Millton Vineyards & Winery "Organic Wines" Our Favourite
New Zealand’s first certified organic vineyard and now one of the oldest Biodynamic estates in the world. Image
Milton Vineyards & Winery
Cellar Door open Monday - Friday from 1pm to 3pm
119 Papatu Road,
Manutuke, Gisborne
Phone: 06 862 8680
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Kirkpatrick Estate Winery (KEW)
Website Image
Kirkpatrick Estate Winery owner Simon Kirkpatrick and
winemaker Anita Ewart Croy
569 Wharekopae Road -- Phone: 06 862 7722
East Cape:
The brooding heights of the mountains around East Cape, its long stretches of unspoiled beaches, large tracts of sub-tropical rainforest, and small settlements steeped in Maori tradition form a stark counterpoint to the acres of chardonnay vines sheltering on the alluvial river plains near Gisborne. Roads near the Cape do not tame their surroundings, nor humans their environment, it is nature that’s firmly in control, allowing locals a place here purely on its own terms. While Gisborne enjoys a Mediterranean climate and a prosperous city centre, a drive north on SH 35, The Pacific Coast Highway, will plunge you into another reality. The East Cape’s small settlements are noted for the ornate carvings which embellish their marae, and for the strength of their Maori communities. Whangara, 30km north of Gisborne, is one of those settlements. It is here that the award-winning movie Whalerider was shot, and it is here that you can observe the local way of life first-hand. Traditionally, you cannot enter a marae unless invited, but local tours of the film set, including the home where much of the filming took place, will also take visitors onto the local marae.
(Whalerider Tours 06 868.6139
or Tipuna Tours 06 867.6558) Further north, Tolaga Bay’s 660 metre wharf, opened in 1929, and Tokomaru Bay’s brick freezing works building lay testament to bygone days, when up to 400 ships plied the coastal shipping routes, transporting goods in and out of the region when unsealed roads were still a torturous alternative. Nowadays, little remains of the bustling activity of those days, though these settlements remain a haven for artists. 137km north of Gisborne, Mt Hikurangi raises its head skywards through the clouds to be the first spot on mainland New Zealand to greet the sun each day. According to legend, Maui’s canoe, Nukutaimemeha, lays stranded on the mountain peak. Permission must be obtained from the local Ngati Porou Visitor Centre in Ruatoria to climb this sacred peak, and 4WD transport on the first leg of the two-day track is possible. The small settlement of Tikitiki is home to the beautiful St Mary's Church. Built in 1924 by the local iwi to commemorate Ngati Porou soldiers who died in World War One, its carvings and tukutuku (woven) panels are a lasting tribute to their craftsmanship. Its pulpit is a gift from Rotorua’s Te Arawa tribe, whose master carvers aided the project. At Te Araroa, a partly unsealed road wends its way along the coast 21km to the most easterly point on mainland New Zealand. Under clear skies, the 700 step climb to the East Cape Lighthouse affords magnificent views of the Raukumara Ranges and the coast. The feeling of remoteness pervades as you soak up the beautiful vistas that open as the road crosses the Ranges to the western coast of the Cape. Untamed expanses of bush give way to the pohutukawa fringed west coast of the peninsula, as the road slides back towards the Bay of Plenty. En route, the picturesque Raukokere Church stands silhouetted against the sea, and small settlements cluster near the beaches. Halfway along the coast, the North Island’s last remaining un-dammed river, a designated ‘Protected Wilderness Area’, meets the sea. From the heights of the Raukumara Ranges, the Motu River flows through pristine rainforest for 100 km, and is the stage on which white water rafting and jet boating adventures are played out.
Morere Springs Scenic Reserve:
Heading south from Gisborne on SH 2, the DOC administered Morere Springs Scenic Reserve features a modern bathing and spa complex with hot and cold springs of varying temperatures. Opulent lowland rainforest including nikau, rimu, totara, and matai surrounds the pools, where 250,000 litres of sea-water per day, underground for thousands of years, travels through super-heated vents to emerge above-ground. The Reserve shelters a large population of kereru and morepork, and at night, the bush alongside the tracks is studded with glow worms. Entrance fee to the 36.4 sq km Reserve allows access to pools and bush walks ranging from 10 minutes to 3 hours.
Mahia Peninsula:
Another east coast kiwi holiday mecca, the Mahia Peninsula has an abundance of sun, sand, and surf. With north, east and west facing shores, ideal conditions for any water activity are usually just a short drive away. Swimming, surfing, diving, snorkelling, windsurfing, kayaking, kite-surfing and fishing are high on the locals’ list of pastimes, and there’s plenty of scope for walking, tramping and cycling. Sheltered reefs and rock pools encourage visitors to fossick and explore, while the sandstone cliffs are a palette of changing colours as the sun tracks across the sky. Once an island, the peninsula is now joined to the mainland by a series of sand dunes. Hidden in these dunes, two sites of interest to bird watchers are the freshwater Opoutama Wetland Reserve and the tidal Maungawhio Lagoon.
