Must see attractions in The East Coast

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Top Choice
Te Mata Peak
Rising dramatically from the Heretaunga Plains 16km south of Havelock North, Te Mata Peak (399m) is part of the 1-sq-km Te Mata Trust Park. The summit…
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St Mary’s Church
If you haven't yet made it into a marae (meeting house), you’ll get a fair idea of what you’re missing out on by visiting the extraordinary St Mary’s…
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Wairoa Museum
The excellent Wairoa Museum has an Italianate facade from its former life as a bank. Inside you'll find passionately curated, creative displays on local…
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Daily Telegraph Building
The Daily Telegraph is one of the stars of Napier's art-deco show, with superb zigzags, fountain shapes and a symmetrically patterned facade. If the front…
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Tairāwhiti Museum
The Tairāwhiti Museum, with its fab gallery extension, focuses on East Coast Māori and colonial history. This is Gisborne’s arts hub, with rotating…
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National Tobacco Company Building
Around the shore at Ahuriri, the National Tobacco Company Building (1932) is arguably the region’s deco masterpiece, combining art-deco forms with the…
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MTG Hawke’s Bay
The beating cultural heart of Napier is the smart-looking MTG – a gleaming-white museum-theatre-gallery space by the water. The MTG showcases live…
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Black Barn Vineyards
This hip, inventive winery has a bistro, a gallery, a popular summer Saturday morning farmers market (one of the first in NZ) and an amphitheatre for…
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Gannet Colony
The gaggling gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers – Te Kauwae-a-Māui to local Māori – is best visited between early November and late February, when the…
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Titirangi Reserve
High on a hill overlooking Gisborne, Titirangi was once a pā (fortified village). Reach it via Queens Dr, or on the steep track from the revamped Puhi Kai…
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Puhi Kai Iti Cook Landing Site
At the foot of Titirangi Reserve is the spot where Captain Cook first landed in NZ in 1769, and where nine Māori were killed by Cook's crew. In 2019, a $5…
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Eastwoodhill Arboretum
An arboreal paradise, Eastwoodhill Arboretum is the largest collection of northern-hemisphere trees and shrubs in the southern hemisphere. It's…
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Footrot Flats Statue
Gisborne is already well endowed with statues, but this one commemorating the hugely popular Footrot Flats cartoons by Gisborne local, the late Murray…
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C Company Memorial House
This cultural centre commemorates the dedication and commitment of the famed 28th Māori Battalion of the New Zealand Army who fought bravely in the…
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Elephant Hill
There's plenty of great vineyard dining around Hawke's Bay, but copper-clad Elephant Hill in beachy Te Awanga is something special. Huge picture windows…
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Sea Walls
Painted recently as part of a street-art festival, there are 50 colourful and thought-provoking murals scattered across central Napier and Ahuriri. Pick…
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Sculpture of Te Maro
On the flanks of Titirangi Reserve is an impressive new sculpture of Te Maro, the first of nine Māori men killed by Cook's crew when they landed in…
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National Aquarium of New Zealand
Inside this modern complex with its stingray-inspired roof are piranhas, terrapins, eels, kiwi, tuatara and a whole lotta fish. Snorkellers can swim with…
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Millton Vineyards & Winery
Sustainable, organic, biodynamic... Millton makes all the right moves, and makes them well. Bring a picnic and kick back surrounded by sturdy-trunked…
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Hastings City Art Gallery
The city's neat little gallery presents contemporary NZ (including Māori) and international art in a bright, purpose-built space. Expect some wacky stuff…