Things to do in East Cape
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Cook Monument
At the foot of Titirangi Park is the spot where Cook first got NZ dirt on his boots. This important site is little more than a patch of lawn with a grim obelisk facing the end of the wharves. The scrappy site is made even more significant by being the landing point of the Horouta waka. Look out for the remnants of terracing and kumara pits on the steep track to the top of Kaiti Hill, which starts near the monument.
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Freestyle NZ
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Paradise Leisure Tours
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Statue of Young Nick
There's no let-up in the Endeavour endeavours, because in the riverside park is a statue of Nicholas Young, Cook’s cabin boy, whose eagle eyes were the first to spot NZ (the white cliffs at Young Nick’s Head). There’s a Captain Cook statue nearby, erected on a globe etched with his roaming routes.
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Surfit Charters
Awaken your sense of mortality with a shark-cage dive from Surfit Charters. Tamer fishing and snorkelling trips can also be arranged.
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Tipuna Tours
Anne offers meaningful insights into Maori culture on her small-group tours, including the half-day trip to Tolaga Bay. Visit the sites and hear the stories, including the legend of Whale Rider.
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Titirangi
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Captain Cook Statue
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Dome Cinema
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Gisborne Cycle Tours
Half-day to multiday guided cycle tours around local sights and further afield including wineries and Eastwoodhill Aboretum. Take the half-day cultural tour and you can keep the bike all day. Cheaper rates for multiday freedom bike hire (maps and advice on tap).
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Gisborne Wine Centre
Harbourside spot with a wide selection of the region's vino to sample, plus local winery information.
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Morrell's
Artisan bakers with killer pies, wholesome bread and delicious patisserie.
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Rere Rockslide
The extreme in local watery sports has to be Rere Rockslide. This natural phenomenon occurs in a section of the Rere River 50km northwest of Gisborne along the Wharekopae Rd. Grab a tyre tube or boogie board to cushion the worst of the bruises and slide down the 60m-long rocky run into the pool at the bottom.
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The Rivers
This well-run, British-style pub does the business, offering steak-and-ale pie, proper pudding, big-screen telly and pool. It's also family-friendly and cosy, with some stonework and choice artefacts adding a veneer of history in what could otherwise be a plain, corner pub in the bottom of a big new hotel.
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Titirangi Park
High on Kaiti Hill overlooking the city, Titirangi was once a pa (fortified village). You can reach it by driving or walking up Queens Dr, or pick up the walking track at the Cook Monument. Near the summit is Titirangi Lookout and yet another Cook edifice, Cook’s Plaza. Due to a cock-up of historic proportions, the Cook statue here looks nothing like Cap'n Jim. A plaque proclaims, ‘Who was he? We have no idea!’ Further on is the Cook Observatory, the world’s easternmost star-gazing facility.
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Villaggio
On the north side of the river, not far from the Botanic Gardens, this dear old art-deco home has been respectfully stripped back, its new scheme of red, white and wood making this cafe super-smart and edgy. The food’s on the modern side too, offering fresh takes on the classics (seafood chowder, fish and chips), as well as a colourful array of Med-style dishes such as spaghetti with tomato, goat cheese and herbs, and Moroccan vegetable tagine. Pleasant garden invites loitering over lunchtime wines.
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Yoko Sushi
Looks like the Gisbonites have well and truly taken to sushi, if the lunchtime trade at this sparky sushi bar is anything to go by. Commendable sushi, along with the usual miso-lany of extras including the bento box and octopus dumplings. Ample seating for eating in, plus pavement tables.
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Cook Observatory
The world's easternmost star-gazing facility.
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Odeon Multiplex Theatres
New-release movies screen throughout the day.
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Bushmere Estate
Great chardonnay, gewürztraminer, cafe lunches, and live music on summer Sundays.
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Lindauer Cellars
NZ's big sparkling wine producer. Has a café and museum.
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Pak N Save
Fill up the trolley, and don't forget your Gisborne oranges.
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Gisborne Botanic Gardens
The town gardens sit prettily beside the Taruheru River and are a pleasant place for a picnic.
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Muirs Bookshop
The best bookshop in Gisborne (and probably the whole East Coast), established in 1905.
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Millton
Sustainable, organic and biodynamic to boot. Bring a picnic and linger in the beautiful gardens.
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