Accessed via State Highway 2 from Wellington or Gisborne and State highway 5 from Taupo. The bay has high sunshine hours and offers a huge range of options for intrepid travellers. The region is often visited by cruise ships and is well known as the Art Deco Capital. Each February the region hosts the Art Deco week of activities and draws people from all around the world.
Well known for the grapes, fruit and vegetables grown in the rich soils the region runs from the ranges to the ocean and has some of the most fascinating landscapes on offer in this country. This region is way bigger than most think, has stunning roads with everything from bush hot pools, to kiwi sanctuaries, water falls, lakes, rivers, wineries, fruit stalls, sheep and beef farms, dairy and so much more.
The twin cities of Napier and Hastings offer fine dining, cycle trails galore, boutique shops, national aquarium, historic prison and amazing views. Some of the must do activities are; Napier Hill lookout (suitable for small vehicles only as the road is twisty, narrow and steep), Marine Parade, Gannet Colony, Cycle some of the many trails, wine tasting, Splash Planet, TeMata Peak, visit the many beaches or just relax beside the ocean.
The main beach in Napier is not the safest for swimming but there are many others both north and south of this. Ocean Beach and Waimarama are very popular and the drive out to these beaches will show you some of the very dramatic landscapes. There are many East Coast Beaches further south including Aramoana, Porongohau, Black Head, Herbertville and many others. Seals and Penguins can often be seen at many of these beaches.
There are a number of waterfalls in the region. For those that don’t like long walks, one such waterfall is Maraetotara Falls on the way out to Ocean Beach or Waimarama Beach. Just turn right in Maraetotara Road and just a few klms along the road on the right you’ll see some small road side parking areas. The easiest to access the falls from is the car-park with the falls sign post. It’s just a short easy walk to the river and along a path to the base of the falls. The falls are partly man made and partly natural. This is a popular swimming spot for locals in the heat of summer. In the winter you’ll pretty much have the place to yourselves.
Beside the Maraetotara Falls
View from the base of Maraetotara Falls
Mahia Peninsula north of Wairoa heading towards Gisborne is well worth a visit. Now the home of a space rocket launch site it also boasts some of the best beaches in the whole region. Amazing rock formations, dozens of beaches offering safe swimming, shellfish gathering, kayaking and fishing. Take a look at this video of some of the bays found on the peninsula.
You can pretty much explore all the beaches in a day and all are worth exploring. The roads are all sealed, any that aren’t are access roads for the local farmers. At the main Mahia Beach you can watch the local boats being launched on their amazing motorised trailer system. The steep hill on the left of the beach has a walking track you can take if you’re fit enough as it’s quite steep. There are two “freedom camping” sites. One at Opoutama and one at Oraka. Opoutama has a large grasssed area with clean toilets, but can get very busy. Oraka has a much smaller grassed area with toilets. Oraka is on the edge of a large estuary and there is plenty of shellfish that can be collected at low tide. There are information boards available on the amounts and types of seafood gathering you can do.
Driving out of Mahia, sorry about the audio, just turn your volume down as you watch. This will give you an idea of what the road is like and the views, which are stunning.
Just north of Mahia Peninsula are the Morere Hot Springs They are unusual in that although they are deep in the bush surrounded by Nikau Palms, they are actually sea water that comes from deep underground. There are two sets of pools, one up a walkway of 400 meters (or via a 20 minute bush walk) and another set close to the entrance. The upper pools are quite small and there are three of them. The lower pools are much larger. In my opinion there is little need to trek all the way up to the top pools, but if you enjoy a wee bush walk, then go for it.
The cafe over the road offers some unique food choices, but be very careful crossing the road as huge vehicles race through this spot and the length of vision available to drivers is limited.