East Cape and the Pacific Coast Highway

Great Adventure Ideas
Gisborne Hotels
Hotels in Mount Maunganui
Hotels in Tauranga

By Richard Moore

More pictures of East Cape

When you are leaving Hawke's Bay and heading north you have a couple of choices to make.

Do you make a quick trip to Taupo and the Bay of Plenty beyond, or take a longer exploration by way of Gisborne and East Cape?

Most times the quick trip would be chosen but it was a beautifully clear dawn and so the much-talked about East Cape road was selected.

And what an excellent journey it proved to be.

You start with some pretty amazing geography between Napier and Gisborne and there are hot springs at Morere you can take a break at if you feel like unwinding.

Gisborne seems a pleasant enough town with a statue of New Zealand's claimant Captain James Cook at the Taruheru River mouth and another of the cabin boy Nick Young who first spotted New Zealand.

There's an observatory on Kaiti Hill and another Cook statue at its foot as this was the spot the British explorer first set foot on New Zealand soil.

But the point of the journey was not to stay in Gisborne, which can be visited at a later stage, but to take on the lengthy East Cape coastal road.

I'd been told about it for ages and was determined to make the run and see why people enjoyed it so much.

Well, to start with it is a beautiful journey.

It reminds me in many ways of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia, with gorgeous sea views and a nice road on which to zip around.

Mind you try not to select a time of year when the roadworks gangs are out otherwise a 6.5 hour journey will blow out to 8 hours plus.

It is also a journey back in time as the small settlements and towns on the route are a world away from easier-to-get-to destinations.

The biggest settlement is Tolaga Bay, which boasts the longest pier in the country.

The very impressive 660m structure is an old wooden wharf and it is well worth strolling along it to get a different view of the beach that is covered with driftwood.

Tolaga Bay has a camping ground with cabins near the pier and three kilometres north, in the township proper, there are other places to stay and places to get meals.

Tologa Bay also has petrol available and to be on the safe side I would recommend filling up here before heading further north.

Petrol supplies are not always obviously available on the coast road and you don't want to be running out of fuel mid-journey.

The good news is that decent loo facilities are easily found.

The district council has clean toilet blocks in towns around much of the East Cape and these green buildings are among the best public ones I've been forced to use while travelling.

Te Puia Springs is another settlement with plenty of facilities as well as nearby hot springs.

If you take the turnoff here on to the Waipiro Bay loop road you will find plenty of good spots for surfing and fishing.

Continuing along the coast road from Te Puia Springs you get to Tikitiki where there is the very pretty historic St Mary's Church.

Next up is Te Araroa a really attractive town that has New Zealand's largest pohutukawa tree. These are fabulous trees and this one is an absolute giant.

The wild beach here - like many on the East Cape - is covered with driftwood and would be fabulous to wander along in winter.

As long as you are rugged up, of course.

From Te Araroa you can take a turnoff to the East Cape lighthouse - the most easterly in the world.

It is a 22km journey but at the end of it fisherman and scuba divers will find some fabulous spots to enjoy their passions.

It's a half-hour drive from Te Araroa to East Cape and then you can make a climb up some 150 metres to the lighthouse where some very fine views await those who make the effort.

Now heading west across the top of the East Cape you can turn off to Lottin Point, where you will find a motel and some more terrific fishing and diving areas.

Another pretty spot is Waihau Bay where the town is built overlooking a rocky inlet with views out to Cape Runaway.

There is a deep-sea fishing club there and all facilities are available.

Just on from Waihau Bay at Raukokore is a stunning historic Anglican church that will make that perfect holiday picture.

If you approach from the east you will see it across the water and it does pay to stop and get a few snaps. Then you can drive around and get a close up of the 100-year-old building.

The next potential stop for travellers is at Te Kaha, a fishing town that offers good swimming, accommodation and good facilities.

The town of Opotiki pretty much ends the Pacific Coast Highway and then it's on to the lovely Ohope beach, Whakatane and then into the Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga.

This is a really interesting trip and too much for the one day I did it in.

I would recommend at least two days - possibly three - and more if you have the children with you.

Take the time to enjoy the bucolic feeling of the East Cape and its raw scenic beauty.