Page 64 - 2020-ETEC-eBook

EAST CAPE KILOMETRES FROM ŌPŌTIKI KILOMETRES FROM GISBORNE
Opape
17km
317km
This is where the sandy beach ends amid the rocky
inlets. Small fishing boats may be launched here
to seek their way through the channel to the open
sea. Eastern boundary of the Whakatōhea tribe,
Opape is the site of the Muriwai meeting-house
overlooking the sea. Here visitors can find a well
equipped camping ground set well back off the main
road and a newly developed coastal walkway. See
WALKS page 17.
Opape Motor Camp: 7 Opape Rd, Easy
Beach access for Swimming or fishing.
Powered & non powered sites.
www.opapemotorcamp.webs.com Whānau checking out a rockpool at Opape.
Ph 07 315 8020. - Photo Ngaio Knebel
24km Torere 310km
As you come down onto the Torere Straight, a left just at the base of the hill is the road to
the beach and Torere Macadamias, where they grow, harvest and process premium organic
macadamia products. Also onsite is New Zealand’s largest macadamia nursery supplying 95%
of the macadamia plants in the country.
Torere Macadamias: Beachfront Orchard. Regular Field Days. See advert below.

Ph. 027 468 7588
www.toreremacadamias.co.nz
Nursery/Farm: 2026 State Highway 35, Torere
Office: 79 Childers Road, Gisborne 4010
Farm Tours by arrangement.
Monthly Grower Field Days (Details on Website).
NZ Macadamia variety trials, Organic Nursery &
Macadamia Orchard, Large Pohutukawa.
Quality plants and delicious products –
www.toreremacadamias.co.nz Shop online or at Gisborne Farmers Market.
Torere is a large semi-circular bay, rocky at each extremity, and with a steeply shelving pebble
beach, with deep water close to shore. Unsuitable for swimming but ideal for fishing. A lovely
picnic area is situated on the western side of the bay beneath large pohutukawa trees. At the
eastern end of the Bay the Bookbinders Road leads to some historic walkways, which include
evidence of early Māori settlement on top of the hill and a whaling oven along the beachfront
below the hill. This is private property so a phone call would be a wise move.
A richly decorated church, serving the local Ngaitai tribe here, is worth inspecting, and
the key can be collected at the nearby Runanga office where you will be directed to local
points of interest and the various cottage industries. As you drive up the hill take time to see
the magnificently carved Whakairo Gateway to Torere School.The Ngaitai tribe of Torere are
descendants of Hoturoa’s daughter, Torere, who came ashore from the Tainui canoe on its
journey along the coast from Whangaparaoa. The Tainui eventually terminated its journey
from Hawaiiki at Kawhia, after being dragged overland from the Waitemata into the Manukau
Harbour.
29km Hawai 305km
A similar shelving beach to Torere, bare of trees, and usually covered with driftwood. An excellent
fishing spot, with river swimming and surfing at the eastern end of the beach. This is the boundary
area of Te-Whānau-ā-Apanui tribe, which extends to Cape Runaway. Many tribal skirmishes have
been reported about here - the old Ngariki tribe has Pā's in the hills - and the Hawai River, on the
eastern side of this area, appears to have been part of one of the old tracks to the Gisborne plains in
64 ancient times.