THE COROMANDEL, BAY OF PLENTY & TAIRĀWHITI GISBORNE
Walking Must-Do’s of The Coromandel, Bay of Plenty & Tairāwhiti Gisborne Sunrise in Gisborne © Adove Stock
DON’T MISS • Mt Maunganui Summit the mount in roughly 40 minutes, frequent the cafés and sink into the hot pools at this lively, seaside resort.
• One hour from Whitianga wharf, seven motu make up the Mercury Islands. Day trips sail to sugary-white beaches and snorkelling spots.
• The Coromandel Peninsula is teeming with seafood. Charter boats facilitate visits to mussel farms and snapper fishing.
• Indulge at The Lost Spring in Whitianga.
• Straddling Otiki Hill above East Cape Lighthouse, the North Island’s easternmost point, catching sunrise here is pure magic. • Waipaoa River Valley Sitting just northwest of Gisborne and celebrated for its grape growing. Multiple wine tours, including those by bike.
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• Learn about Waihi’s gold-mining history at the award-winning Waihi Gold Discovery Centre. • Take a vintage train journey on the Goldfields Railway through the Karangahake Gorge.
• Hot Water Beach For two hours either side of low • Moutohora Island/Whale Island Take a guided tide, make a hole in the sand and wait for the hot tour of the country’s most protected wildlife water to seep in for your own DIY jacuzzi. sanctuaries and bathe at a hot water beach. • Cathedral Cove Walk the coast on an easy 90-minute amble to this cove’s famed archway. • Whenuakura Island/Donut Island Offshore from Whangamata, a little cove of tropical splendour hides inside a collapsed blowhole.
• Soak in Te Aroha’s soothing hot springs. • Cycle the 160km Hauraki Rail Trail from Kaiaua to Matamata. Historic sights are plentiful. • Visit The Burial Tree, a 2000-year-old pūriri tree found in Hukutaia Domain in Ōpotiki.
