Poor little Wairoa is trying really hard to shirk its rough-edged reputation. A new Wairoa Township River Walkway takes in sites of interest along the main street, including the old solid kauri Portland Island Lighthouse (1877) which once stood off the Mahia Peninsula and now flashes proudly at the entry to the town centre. In retrospect, perhaps choosing a warning beacon as a landmark wasn’t such a great idea.
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New Zealand is known for its juxtaposition of wildly divergent landscapes but in this region it’s the sociological contours that are most pronounced. From the remote villages of East Cape to Havelock North’s prosperous, wine-stained streets, the East Coast condenses a wide range of authentic Kiwi experiences that anyone with a passion for culture will find fascinating.
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Shrouded in mist, mysticism and virgin forest, Te Urewera National Park is the North Island’s largest, encompassing 212, 673 hectares cut with lakes and rivers. The highlight is Lake Waikaremoana (Sea of Rippling Waters), a deep crucible of water encircled by the Lake Waikaremoana Track, one of NZ’s Great Walks. Rugged bluffs drop away to reedy inlets, the lake’s mirror surface disturbed only by mountain zephyrs and the occasional waterbird taking to the skies.
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You don’t have to be particularly cultured to enjoy Napier but you might find its passion for architecture and fine wine surprisingly contagious. Before long you’ll be blathering on about the Chicago School, Mayan decorative devices and ‘hints of passionfruit on the palate’ with the best of them.
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Hawke Bay, the name given to the body of water that stretches from the sunburnt Mahia Peninsula to Cape Kidnappers, looks like it’s been bitten out of the North Island’s eastern flank. Add an ‘s’ and you’ve got a region that stretches south and inland to include fertile farmland, surf beaches, mountainous ranges and wild forests.
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Positioned at the centre of the Hawkes Bay fruit bowl, Hastings is the commercial hub of the region. It means business, unlike its sister Napier, just 20km north. Similarly devastated by the 1931 earthquake its fine collation of Art Deco and Spanish Mission buildings also emerged in the aftermath. But apart from the architecture, Hastings itself isn’t especially interesting. It’s in the surrounding district that epicurean dreams come true.
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Gizzy to her friends, Gisborne’s a pretty thing and increasingly self-confident. Squeezed between surf beaches and a sea of chardonnay, most Kiwis would describe the lifestyle here as ‘not bad’ – meaning, of course, bloody brilliant.
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Nowhere else in NZ is remotely like the gorgeous, detached East Cape. Maori community life is at the forefront here, with each stunning bay hiding a remote marae and village. It’s a fascinating illustration of what might have been if the Maori weren’t so vigorously divested of their land in the 19th century and the flood of British settlers had been moderated.
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Grassy farmland stretches south from Hastings, dotted with the grand homesteads of Victorian pastoralists. It’s an untouristed area, rich in history and deserted beaches. Waipukurau (aka ‘Wai-puk’), the main town, isn’t exactly thrilling but it’s worth calling in to the extremely helpful Central Hawkes Bay i-SITE (06-858 6488; www.centralhawkesbay.co.nz; Railway Esp; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat) in the old railway station. They can sort you out with the comprehensive Central Hawkes Bay: Unwind Country brochure and pamphlets outlining heritage trails and DOC reserves and walkways.
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