Gisborne Region
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Gisborne city, East Coast beaches, Te Urewera National Park, Tolaga Bay, Rere Rockslide, and Rere Falls.
About
The Gisborne Region is where Europeans first landed in New Zealand, yet it remains one of the most isolated areas in the North Island today. The East Coast as it is renown for its expansive beaches and surf lifestyle. The result is a city with a laid back feel to it and a favourite holiday destination for New Zealanders looking for sand, surf, and warmer weather. The region also experiences the warmest summer temperatures in the North Island due to sitting in a rain shadow and being protected by the prevailing westerly winds. The warm-dry climate also lends itself to wine production and today there many vineyards in the region producing world class wines.
The region is named from its only city and because the region is close to the International Dateline, the city is the first in the world to see the light of each new day. In the year 2000, it was billed as the first city to see the sun in the new millennium.
Maori life is evident in the East Coast. There are carved meeting houses, Maori churches, and Maori communities speaking their native language (Te Reo). This region is where the movie, Whale Rider was filmed.
The Te Urewera Ranges are the main mountain ranges located here. Within these mountains exist the biggest area of native forest in the North Island, protected under the name of Urewera National Park.
A visit to the East Coast region not only gives you access to many great pacific beaches and tracts of native forest, but there is a real sense of history with a predominate Maori culture and memorials dotted around the coast dedicated to European explorers such as Abel Tasman and Captain James Cook, the latter being the first to set foot in New Zealand. He sighted New Zealand on 6 October 1769 and landed at Poverty Bay in the Gisborne region two days later.Photo Galleries
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Author & photographer: David Johnson (Virtual New Zealand). Providing a credit or link is appreciated.
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