East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located to the north of Gisborne in the northeast of the North Island.
The name East Cape is also used to refer to the Gisborne region around the cape stretching from just north of the Mahia Peninsula northwards, and inland to Te Urewera National Park. This region was the site of many of the major conflicts of the New Zealand land wars in the 1860s.
East Cape reaches out to the Pacific Ocean, and is the first mainland place in the world to see the sun each day.
There's a wonderfully fresh quality to the scenery of Eastland. Bush fringed misty mountain lakes, beaches that have hardly changed for hundreds of years, farmland and vineyards that breathe the spirit of nature.
The further you go, the more nature's bounty tempts—camping, diving, fishing, hunting, swimming and surfing opportunities abound.
There are many interesting and beautiful walks within the region, but one of the most stunning areas for hiking and trekking is in the Te Urewera National Park, the third largest national park and the largest untouched native forest in New Zealand. Soft adventure, such as horse trekking is another way to experience the magic of East Cape.
The East Cape offers a slow, peaceful existence to those who reside there, and an equally relaxed, enchanting place for its visitors. With few harbours and a mountainous, wild bush interior, the Cape has been isolated for many years until the road network was completed. Inhabited predominantly by Maori, Gisborne and the Cape region place great emphasis on the retention of their culture and traditions - it is here you will hear Te Reo Maori (the Maori language) being spoken fluently and freely.
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East Cape
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View from East Cape looking towards East Island/Whangaokeno
Famous quotes containing the words east and/or cape:
“Richard. Give me a calendar.
Who saw the sun today?
Ratcliffe. Not I, my lord.
Richard. Then he disdains to shine, for by the book
He should have braved the east an hour ago.
A black day will it be to somebody.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“A solitary traveler whom we saw perambulating in the distance loomed like a giant. He appeared to walk slouchingly, as if held up from above by straps under his shoulders, as much as supported by the plain below. Men and boys would have appeared alike at a little distance, there being no object by which to measure them. Indeed, to an inlander, the Cape landscape is a constant mirage.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)