Gisborne

If you have a strong interest in Maori culture - and you love food, wine and surf beaches - Gisborne is a city you won’t want to miss.

Gisborne is the first city in the world to greet the sun each morning, and it has a reputation for great food, wine and surf beaches. As the unofficial ‘Chardonnay Capital of New Zealand’, Gisborne has a comprehensive wine trail leading to boutique wineries. Several operators offer custom tours tailored for individuals or groups, to spare you the problem of driving.

Kaiti Beach is the site of Captain Cook’s first landing in New Zealand (9 October 1769); nearby is picturesque Te Poho O Rawiri Marae. If you’re interested in Maori culture, Gisborne is an essential port of call on your itinerary – old traditions are still evident in many parts of the city. Oral history records Titirangi (Kaiti) Hill as the point of arrival for the migratory waka (canoe), Horouta, which brought the first Maori to the area.

Consider these must do's while in Gisborne

• Watch the surfers work the waves at Wainui beach - hire a board and get out there if you're game.
• Drink chardonay to your heart's content on Gisborne's wine trail.
• Discover the Maori culture on the East Coast with a marae experience or a waka trail tour.   
• Find Captain Cook's landing site at Kaiti Beach, then climb Kaiti Hill for views across to the white cliffs of Young Nick's Head (named after Nicholas Young - the first of Cook's crew to sight New Zealand).
• Tairawhiti Museum & Arts Centre houses a fine collection of European and Maori artefacts and an extensive photographic collection.

Functional facts: Approx. population 44,500, i-SITE Visitor Centre, domestic airport.