Gisborne & the Eastland Region
FIRST TO SEE THE LIGHT

Gisborne, the first city in the world to see the sun each day, is located on the sunny East Coast of the North Island.
The Maori name for the district is Tairawhiti which means "The coast upon which the sun shines across the water". Kaiti Beach, near the city, was where the Maori immigrational waka, Horouta, landed; and is also the first European landing place in New Zealand.

The first light of a new day

Gisborne

Wharf dining

Tolaga Bay Wharf

Captain Cook first set foot here in 1769. European settlement was established in 1831 and the town which developed was named after Hon. William Gisborne, the Colonial Secretary, in 1870.

For visitors there is no better way to discover the delights of Eastland then along the Pacific Coast Highway. The 440km stretch of the PCH which covers the Eastland from Opotiki in the north and Wairoa in the south, you will find stunning coastal scenery, superb seafood and farm-grown fare, wonderful wines and friendly people who enjoy introducing people to their slice of paradise.

Opotiki, in the Bay of Plenty, is located at the confluence of the Waioeka and Otara Rivers.The name Opotiki originated from the name of a spring, O-Potiki-Mai-Tawhiti, situated on the eastern bluff above Waiotahi Beach. The extensive Gisborne coastline provides large stretches of safe, sandy beaches alternated by rocky points ideal for swimming, fishing, boating, or scuba diving. There are also numerous rivers for fishing, rafting, kayaking and jet-boating.

Surfer

Wairoa, 118km northeast of Napier and 99km south of Gisborne is a pretty town situated on the banks of the broad Wairoa River, and is the southern gateway to Eastland. The Maori name means "Long water" and it is the gateway to the wilderness playgrounds of Te Urewera National Park and Lake Waikaremoana. Activities to be enjoyed include lake kayaking, trout fishing, boating, day walks and a multi-day walking trip around magnificent Lake Waikaremoana, one of New Zealand's 10 Great Walks.

North from Wairoa is Mahia Peninsula, a beach-fringed promontory jutting into the Pacific providing a mecca for fishermen, surfers, divers and those looking for the quintessential beach holiday.

Things not to miss in the Gisborne and the Eastland Region

• Climb the 700 steps to the East Cape Lighthouse at Te Araroa
• Walk the 660m pier at Tolaga Bay
• Visit Rere Waterfalls and try the natural rock slide
• Be the first person in the world to see the sunrise at Wainui Beach
• Taste a glass of Chardonnay wine in Gisborne city, the "Chardonnay Capital" of New Zealand
• Visit Te Urewera National Park, the largest untouched native forest in the North Island
• Take a walk on Mahia Peninsula which is the largest tombola form (a tombola is a deposition landform which connects an island to a shore) in New Zealand