Gisborne to Tauranga

My plan for Monday was to just have a more chilled out day exploring the city of Gisborne, before spending the following few days working my way round the East Cape. Gisborne is the most eastern city in the world and was the first place Captain James Cook landed in 1769 when he discovered New Zealand. After having an awful nights sleep because of the heat, I went for a stroll round the city, checking out the main high street, beach, and river estuary. It was a really nice place to walk round. After lunch I headed up Kaiti Hill which overlooks the city, getting some great views out over Gisborne, Poverty Bay and as far as the Mahia Peninsula. The rest of the day I just chilled out which was much needed after my recent travels.

On Tuesday morning I was raring to go and I had a far better nights sleep. My plan was to follow SH35 also known as the Pacific Coast Highway from Gisborne to Opotiki. The 334km road is another off the beaten track route on my behalf, with SH2 through the Waioeka Gorge linking Gisborne and Opotiki in just 144km. The drive passes through countless bays and small predominantly Maori settlements skimming the coastline much of the way. I knew before setting off I had to be flexible and go with the flow as it would be impossible to visit everywhere en route by hitchhiking.

After having a pretty laid back start to the day, my first stop of the day was Wainui Beach just a short walk north of Gisborne. What I wanted to do here was check out Tuahine Head which is the northern tip of Poverty Bay and home to an old abandoned lighthouse. I however couldn't really get to it because the sea was too rough and it would have required rock hopping so I deemed it too risky. I got a glimpse though. From Wainui Beach I followed the beach right along to Okitu Beach and over the Makorori headland to Makorori Beach where I had lunch. They were all nice sandy beaches, particularly good beaches in terms of surfing.

From Makorori Beach I headed over to Tatapouri Beach where I hitched a ride north to Tolaga Bay, home to the longest wharf in New Zealand. I did a walk here out to Cooks Cove which went up to this headland giving great views over Tolaga Bay, before dropping down to Cooks Cove the other side, which is where Captain Cook and his crew first landed for water supplies. There was also a little side walk through the hole in the cliff to a little secluded beach which was nice. When getting back to Tolaga Bay I checked out the 660m long wharf which I walked to the end of, before heading into the town itself which was a good 30 minute walk from the wharf despite only being the other side of the river which was frustrating. I camped by the beach here.

In the morning there was a fantastic sunrise which I was able to watch without even having to get out of my tent as I was right by the beach. After a pretty chilled out start to the day where I went up to this lookout which looked over Tolaga Bay, I headed north to Tokomaru Bay. I would have visited Anaura Bay prior but it was a 7km detour each way from the main road and it was way too hot to be doing that. In Tokomaru Bay I chilled down the beach where I had a good swim in the sea, the waves absolutely massive! I also had lunch here as well as topping up my water supply which was becoming an issue getting a regular source of drinkable water as the humidity was crazy and all the taps said the water was unsafe to drink.

From Tokomaru Bay I thought I may as well just aim for the East Cape Lighthouse. I managed to get a ride to Ruatoria from there, where I was invited to local marae for afternoon tea which was nice. There were great views of Hikurangi which at 1754m I was tempted to climb, but getting there would have been a challenge and you need to get permission from Ngati Porou tribe to climb it. It is the first point of New Zealand to see the sunrise due it's prominence making it a very sacred place for the Maori, and even apparently has this circle of 9 wooden pole carvings up there. From Ruatoria I got a ride to Tikitiki.

In Tikitiki I got a ride with this couple who kindly took me out to the lighthouse. The lighthouse marks the most eastern point of mainland New Zealand, and excluding remote Pacific Islands like the Chatham Islands is as far east as you can possibly go. To access it required a 21km detour from the main road along a gravel track, and then a climb of 800 steps to reach the lighthouse, sitting 154m above sea level. I would have loved to have camped here to see the sunrise but there were signs everywhere telling you not to and there wasn't really any way of being discreet. I therefore set up camp at the permitted campground about 6km up the road from the lighthouse.

In the morning it was a great sunrise anyway, although I did find myself pretty stranded on the middle of nowhere camping somewhat off the beaten track. It was therefore inevitable I had to walk out of the lighthouse road as I had no traffic to work with, coming back out again at Te Araroa where I had lunch. Once I was back on the main road again I hitched a ride to Hicks Bay where I went out to the historic wharf, as well as checking out the beaches of Hicks Bay itself and Onepoto Bay where I just chilled and had a nice swim. I wanted to see this waterfall too but I couldn't work out how to get to it up close without trespassing. I could see it from a distance though.

From Hicks Bay I hitched a ride to Waihau Bay, which also meant I had crossed into the Bay of Plenty region. It was a very rocky coastline here, but still very pretty. I had dinner here at the local pub, before following the coastline round to Raukokore. I was hoping to get to Whanarua Bay for the night although I misjudged where exactly it was and it was further round the coastline from Waihau Bay than I realised, my map slightly misleading. I therefore found a nice spot to camp by the beach, the advantage being as I was almost facing west I got a nice sunset.

In the morning it was slightly overcast and it rained a bit in the night. I therefore decided I would just aim for Whakatane and miss out Whanarua Bay, which I wouldn't have been able to walk to anyway as I would have had to swim across a river to get there. Somehow I got a ride from where I camped straight through to Whakatane which surprised me. Whakatane is the gateway to explore White Island, the most active volcano in New Zealand. I would have loved to gone onto the island but it's only operated by expensive tour companies. I therefore did a walk out to Kohi Point where I got a good view of the island in the distance, as well as an aerial view of Whakatane itself and Whale Island.

As I had done so well getting to Whakatane, I decided to press on north towards Tauranga as I wanted to explore the Coromandel and that was a good base to aim for to get there. I knew the majority of traffic heading in that direction would either be going to Tauranga itself, or bypassing it to get to Hamilton or Auckland, so I would essentially have to stop in Tauranga the night to get myself in a better position to get towards the Coromandel the next day. I managed to get there in two rides via Matata, and when arriving I had a nice swim in the sea as well as grabbing some WiFi which was non existent on the East Cape. I found a nice spot to camp on the beach.