Eastland

Wednesday, the 17th, we drove north out of Gisborne. The drive around the coast winds back and forth from coastline to farther inland and takes you from the east coast South Pacific Ocean over to the west coast Bay of Plenty. This area is sparsely populated and has a high percentage of Maori. Tourists are advised to buy groceries and gas in Gisborne since provisions along the route can be pricey or even scarce.

Our first stop was just outside of Gisborne at a long surfing beach. The waves were crashing and the water was filled with dozens of wetsuit clad surfers. We lingered to watch. Driving on we encountered a vast hillside of sheep with dogs that had just crossed the road as well as sun reflected swirling yellow leaves caught in the gusting winds.

The next stop was Tologa Bay which is known for NZ’s longest wharf (2100 ft.) and some awesome cliffs. We pulled into the parking lot for the hike up the Tatarahake Cliffs (20 minutes) and the Cooks Cove Walkway (2.5 hours). I briefly commented to Mark about the clouds blowing over us, but we figured we would climb to the lookout and see how we felt. After climbing most of the way up the grassy back side of the cliff, we noticed a man and a woman running down the hill towards us. We glanced behind us and saw heavy dark clouds blurred with rain descending on us. The running couple passed us at a brisk clip and we turned and followed them. So much for the lookout! Minutes later we were caught in pelting rain and strong winds. We arrived back at our car pretty well soaked. Driving around the end of the cliffs, we saw the wharf. It looked like a mirage or phantom in the blowing rain. Awesome!

In town we found a small café for a warm up of coffee and hot chocolate and then kept driving. Our plan had been to picnic along the ocean. Instead, in Tokomaru Bay we found a restaurant overlooking the surf and had a HOT lunch!!



Pushing on to Tikitiki we found the beautiful St. Mary’s church which was built in 1924 with the intent to honor the fallen soldiers of WWI and display fine Maori craftsmanship. The wood carvings and flax weavings were beautifully intricate. Happily, visitors are welcome to explore and take pictures.

More driving brought us up near the tip of Eastland to the hamlet of Te Araroa and the world’s oldest pohutukawa tree--estimated to be 600 years old. It was largely unmarked from the road but following our guidebook, we found it. By this time, it was late afternoon. Whanarua Bay, the location of our lodging for the next two nights, was about 2 hours away. But more about that in the next blog………