Gisborne

Gisborne is a small sunny beachside city on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It's a popular holiday spot, especially in summer, as it has a warm, dry and sunny climate, swimming and surf beaches, wineries, and a more relaxed pace of life than larger cities. Due to its proximity to the international date line, it's the first city in the world to see the sun rise, which makes it a good place to spend New Year's Eve if you're looking for a party.

Get in

View of Gisborne from Kaiti Hill

By car

Gisborne is three hours drive from Napier, the nearest city. It is a half day's drive from Rotorua, and a good day's drive from Auckland or Wellington, perhaps longer depending on the route you take.

By plane

There are frequent flights from Auckland and Wellington (both 1 hour) on Air New Zealand. It can be quite expensive compared to flying between Auckland/Wellington/Christchurch, but you can find good deals on Air New Zealand's Grabaseat site if you're lucky. Sunair has some flights from smaller cities. The airport is right on the western edge of the city.

By bus

• InterCity Coachlines offer low cost bus services between Gisborne and many other North Island towns.

Get around

GizzyBus is the local bus service and operates M–F 7:10am–5:40pm, not on public holidays or weekends.

There is a taxi service and several rental car firms. A car is handy, especially if going out of town, say to Wainui Beach (7 km north of the central business district), Rere Falls, or the outlying wineries.

The CBD is small enough to be walked easily. It's an easy 10-15 min walk from the CBD to Waikanae Beach.

See

• 1 Tairawhiti Museum, 10 Stout St, ☏ +64 6 867-3832. M-Sa 10:00-16:00; Su & public holidays 13:30-16:00. Solid local museum with Māori taonga and history displays. The basement houses a local surfing/ocean exhibit, including documentation of Captain Cook's first landfall in New Zealand and an entire boat wheelhouse from The Star of Canada, which sank in the harbour in 1912. There is also an historic house open to the public and a café on-site. 
• 2 Eastwoodhill Arboretum, 2392 Wharekopae Rd (35 km northwest of Gisborne), ☏ +64 6 863-9003. New Zealand's largest planting of North American trees. It has plenty of walks and gardens, and is lovely in the autumn when the leaves change. (updated Jan 2024)
• 3 Cook Landing Site Historic Reserve (Puhi Kai Iti). The Cook Monument was unveiled in 1906, and development of the port since means that it is no longer obvious that this marks where Cook landed in 1769 during his first voyage aboard HMS Endeavour. Cook's crew first sighted New Zealand on 7 October 1769, and landed two days later. Nine Maori died in an unfortunate encounter. Cook named the area Poverty Bay and sailed south to get supplies. The memorial was built after fundraising started in 1902 which aimed to get all New Zealand school children to donate one penny. The area was upgraded in 2019 and was renamed Puhi Kai Iti / Cook Landing National Historic Reserve. (updated Jan 2024)

Do

Gisborne is a great summertime destination. Waikanae Beach is a nice beach right near the middle of town and continues into Midway Beach. If you have a car, it's worth venturing a little further out to Wainui, Makarori or any of the bays that you find if you drive north up the coast. Surfing, swimming and fishing are all big parts of local culture, so give these a go.

• Gisborne Cycle Tour Company, ☏ +64 6 927-7021. Offers one-day wine-tasting cycle tours, city tours, and mountain biking. They also offer multi-day cycle tours throughout the district. 
• Gisborne Farmers Market. Sa 09:00-13:00. Has local fruit and veg, bakeries, delis, cheese, and wine tastings. Often local musicians play. 
• Gisborne Olympic Pool Complex, Centennial Marine Drive opposite Midway Beach, ☏ +64 6 867-6220. Summer daily 06:00-20:00; winter M-F 06:00-20:00, Sa-Su 06:00-18:00. The pool complex offers a 50 m lane pool year-round, and outdoor diving pools, 33 m pool with zero-depth area, and 98 m hydro-slide in summer. BBQs are available for hire (book in advance, especially in summer), and there is also a playground and a campsite suitable for large, self-catering groups. 
• Reef Ecology Tour (Stingray Tour), SH35, Tatapouri, ☏ +64 6 868-5153. Equipped with deep waders, you walk out onto the reef and enjoy some up close and personal time with stingrays and other sea life (you can even pat the stingrays). Times vary with the tide. Booking required. $65 for an adult, $20 for a child, from $135 for a family. (updated Apr 2024)
• Rere Rock Slide. A natural sloping rock formation that a stream flows over it and a natural pool at the bottom. With a little care, you can slide down on body boards, tyres or backsides. It's not for the faint-hearted though, so pack some courage. 
• Rhythm and Vines. A three day music festival to celebrate the new year. Held in a vineyard and includes popular New Zealand and international artists. Camping accommodation is set up in Watson Park especially for the event which has been increasing in size every year (from 1,800 people in 2004 to 25,000 people in 2010). From $229. 
• 1 Titirangi. 33 hectares (82 acres) reserve on a hill with a Cook monument and a pōhutukawa tree planted by Diana, Princess of Wales. (updated Jan 2024)
• Vineyard and winery tours. Gisborne is one of New Zealand's largest grape growing regions with just over half its 2,000 hectares of vineyards planted in Chardonnay. A Mediterranean climate and suitable soils are the key factors in the success of wine production in this region which regularly produces unique, full-flavoured, award winning wines of international standard. 

Eat

Dining in Gisborne is fairly casual. Daytime cafes and evening takeaways, including fish and chips, dominate, and a local speciality is the "all sauces," or a scoop of chips with tomato sauce, mayo, and garlic butter.

Many restaurants mark their hours as "til late," meaning when their last customer of the night has finished. Eating out after about 21:00 can limit your options.

• Captain Morgans, 285 Grey St (opposite Waikanae Surf Lifesaving Club), ☏ +64 6 867-7821. Daily 07:00-19:00. A local legend, this chippie at Waikanae Beach has fish and chips, takeaways, counter food, and ice cream. 
• PBC Cafe, 38 Childers Rd. Daily 8am-3pm. In the grand old Poverty Bay Club (1874). Mains $24–34. 
• Verve Cafe & Bar, 121 Gladstone Rd, ☏ +64 6 868-9095. M-F 07:30-17:30 (full menu to 14:30), Sa-Su 08:00-15:00. Sunny cafe with art exhibits, tasty kitchen food and snacks. Lunch dishes $14–25. 
• Wainui Store, 4 Oneroa Rd, Wainui Beach (7 km north of town), ☏ +64 6 867 8446. Shop: 07:30-20:00; takeaways: 17:00-20:00. A general store that also serves fish and chips, burgers, and the best pizza in the East Coast. 
• Zest, 22 Peel St, ☏ +64 6 867-5787, davie@zestcafe.co.nz. M–Sa 06:00–16:00, Su 08:00–16:00. Daytime café with large selection of counter food, including vegetarian and gluten-free. Breakfasts from $14.50. (updated Aug 2016)

Drink

• Gisborne Wine Centre, Shed 3, 50 The Esplanade, Inner Harbour, ☏ +64 6 867 4085. Has tastings from local wineries and gourmet snack platters to share. They organize the Wine and Food Festival, held in October each year. 
• Lone Star Bar and Grill, Shed One, 60 The Esplanade, ☏ +64 6 868 3257. Bar and cafe on the harbourside. Mid-range family dining during the day; a fun social atmosphere in the evenings. Music is mostly from a jukebox, but the drinks are pretty strong. 

Sleep

• 1 Emerald Hotel, 13 Gladstone Road. Gisborne's luxury hotel option is in the heart of the CBD. Emerald Hotel's rooms and suites often overlook the river. It also hosts a function/conference centre, day spa, and in-house restaurant. from $199. (updated Jan 2024)
• 2 Whispering Sands Motel, 22 Salisbury Road Waikanae Beach. Beachfront motel. Rooms have kitchen facilities. (updated Jan 2024)

Go next

• Go south to Morere (hot pools), Wairoa and Napier.
• Go north-west on State Highway 2 to the inland settlement of Matawai, on the Waioeka Gorge route to Opotiki.
• Head north-east to East Cape and round to Opotiki on coastal State Highway 35. This trip will take a full day and features spectacular coastal views and contains some of the most remote settlements in New Zealand.