East Cape and Bay of Plenty

We stayed at Lucy and John’s place to look after their dogs and chickens for the first couple days of January.  We had a chocolate and a black lab, internet, tv, a trampoline and lots of toys.  They tried to pay us for our “trouble” but we had enjoyed it so much we couldn’t accept the money.  Instead, Lucy sent us on our way with loads of courgettes (zucchini), cucumber, plums, strawberries, a kumokumo, and a jar of her homemade picallily.  We didn’t have to stop at a supermarket for days.

We left Gisborne and headed north up highway 35 through the East Cape.  When we were first leaving town we commented on how spoiled we had become.  We knew the scenery around us was lovely, but noticed we were taking the hills and valleys of the Gisborne area for granted.  No more than 20 minutes later we came around a bend and, once again, had our breath taken away by a stunning view of the sea.  When we had a chance to take a detour off highway 35 to be closer to the sea, we decided to take it.  The map showed a road that went into Waipiro Bay, and another that would take us north to join back up with highway 35.  Not far from Waipiro Bay, the road we had been travelling on turned to gravel.  We were quite nervous that we had taken the wrong road, but hadn’t seen any other likely options, so we carried on hesitantly until we had to pull off the road to let a construction crew through.  They assured us that the little gravel road did indeed join up with “the main road” so we continued on, glad that we had taken the detour in the end; it was well worth the views of the sea.

We stopped for a surf near Te Araroa, not far from Hicks Bay, and then took a small road out to the end of the East Cape, to see the most easterly lighthouse in the world.  The road out to the lighthouse was spectacular.  To one side were steep cliffs.  The tops of the hills were covered in cloud, so we couldn’t quite make out how high they actually were.   The other side of the road fell straight into the sea.  It was one of our favorite roads in New Zealand, and considering all the places we’ve been, that’s really saying something.

The villages around the East Cape are small, and we found ourselves worried about running out of petrol.  After travelling for 2 hours through mountains without passing a single petrol station, we were relieved to see one in Raukokore, just on our way in to the Bay of Plenty. 

the view from Mount Maunganui

The Bay of Plenty is quite a lot different than the East Cape.  We certainly wouldn’t struggle for petrol here.  It’s the most urban of places we’ve been so far.  There are even roads with medians/central reservations, sometimes with three lanes on each side.  It’s also a bit more touristy, but manages to be quite charming at the same time.  Cities like Whakatane, Tauranga, and Mount Maunganui have more trendy bars and shops, but fortunately lack the flashing neon lights and loud slot machines of seaside towns in the UK.

The major crop in the Bay of Plenty is the Kiwi.  They don’t need picking until March, so we’ve decided not to stick around looking for work.  We’re headed to the Coromandel Peninsula next; it’s renowned for its amazing scenery and coastline...