Hawkes Bay Tours & Activities

Things to do in Hawkes Bay

Long known as the fruit bowl of New Zealand, the landholders in these parts have adapted their crops to suit the low rainfall resulting from the protection provided by mountain ranges dissecting the north island. And those who like a drop of vino should be extremely thankful for this, with Hawke’s Bay and a little to the north around Poverty Bay producing some of the country’s finest, and world renowned, varieties of white wines. 

The region is best explored from the beautiful seafront town of Napier that enjoys a near Mediterranean climate. Having been rebuilt after a catastrophic earthquake in 1931 it now has one of the world’s finest and concentrated collections of Art Deco architecture. Nearby Hastings was dealt a similar blow by the same quake and rebuilt with Spanish mission influences, but suffers a bit in comparison to its close neighbour. Not far from here is Cape Kidnappers, the eastern edge of Hawke’s Bay, where you can come face to face with feathered friends in a 20,000 strong colony of gannets on a Gannet Safari guided tour.

If you feel you need a bit of exercise to justify your wine tasting extravagances, head up to the hills above Wairoa and go trekking for a few days  around beautiful Lake Waikaremoana and Te Urewera National Park.