Bay of Plenty & East Coast
Introduction on Bay of Plenty & East Coast
Bay of Plenty & East Coast covers the (mid)eastern part of the northern island of New Zealand. Like many other areas in New Zealand also here you will find many contradictions in nature. Near Napier, a world class Art Deco city, you will find many excellent vine yards on the quite hilly countryside. At the eastern tip of this area you come across one of the remotest and wildest area’s (concerning nature) on the northern island. In and near Rotorua you will be amazed by the nature as well; it is a volcanic area. For good surf spots and trips to volcanic islands: visit the area around Whakatane.
Visiting Bay of Plenty & East Coast
When visiting Bay of Plenty & East Coast a visit to Napier should be made. This city is characterized by its many Art Deco architecture buildings. Furthermore it offers good opportunities to make day- or overnight trips into the area around it; vine yards, rafting, Caving: name it. Havelock North is also a very good base to visit the many vine yards which are producing top class wines. When heading inland from here, you will find mountain ranges offering nice tramping opportunities.
People looking for the “less traveled roads”: go to the eastern tip of New Zealand. Here you will come across nice and wild nature. This is one of the wildest areas concerning nature on the northern island. Activities to undertake are for example Fishing and tramping. Near the eastern coastline there are many nice Beaches and rock formation. Also Maori Culture is prevalent in this area.
New Zealand has some great Surfing spots, some of them can be found on the northern coastline of this region. Also sunbathers and swimmers will adore the Beaches, partly because the many hours of sunshine this area gets. The beautiful (active) volcanic islands; Whakaari (White Island) and Tuhua (Mayor Island) are also major tourist attractions in this area.
Last but not least: you should visit Rotorua and the area around it. This part of the region offers lots of Maori Culture. Here you can best attend a Maori Marea. Besides that the nature is magnificent; it is a volcanic nature. There are many craters, lakes, blow holes, geysers, hot springs, bubbling mud pools, thermal pools and so on. There are enough nice activities which can be undertaken, from aerial sight seeing to Fishing.
Economy of Bay of Plenty & East Coast
Farming is the major source of income in this area. There are many vine yards producing popular and up class wines. The area is also home to the “Kiwi Fruit Capital” of the world. Aside from that there are many other fruits growing in this area, for example grapes. Another economic driving force in this area is forestry. This is especially applicable to the northern part of this region. Not to be forgotten: tourism is of major importance to the economic situation in this part of New Zealand.
History of Bay of Plenty & East Coast
Bay of Plenty & East Coast is home to many Maori people. This area became in the 14th century inhabited by the Maori. In the late 18th century Captain Cook arrived in this area, since that time the situation slowly changed for the Maori. In the beginning of the 19th century the Europeans started to settle in this area, of course not without fierce resistance of the Maori. Nowadays the Maori History and influence is luckily still prevalent. This prevalent mix in Cultures makes this area interesting and special. More recent History in this area includes the earthquake of 1931, which hit (the area around) Napier badly. This earthquake caused a rebuild in the 30’s. During that time Art Deco architecture was popular, this nowadays is a major tourist attraction of Napier and Havelock North.
Climate of Bay of Plenty & East Coast
Summer: Average 23 degrees Celsius.
Winter: Average 15 degrees Celsius.
Year round: Average 2200 sun hours and 1050mm annual rainfall.