Hamish Barwick's hometown-Gisborne
For those of you who have not been to Gisborne, it is the first city in the world to see the sun each day and is located on the East Coast of the North Island. (Here is a map)
A
Brief History
The Maori (who arrived in New Zealand about 500 years ago)
named the district Tairawhiti which means "The coast upon which the sun
shines across the water". Kaiti Beach, near the city, was where the Maori
immigrational waka, Horouta, landed from the Pacific Islands. It is also the
first European landing place in New Zealand.
The explorer was Captain James Cook, from England, who set foot here in 1769.
The local Maori wouldn’t give his crew any food and tried to kill some
of them so he called the place Poverty Bay- (which it is still known as).
European settlement was established in 1831 and the town which developed was
named after Hon. William Gisborne, the Colonial Secretary, in 1870.
The city has a population of 30,000 (quite small) but it was a good place
to grow up and explore in. The weather is usually warm (it only gets frost
in winter, not like Christchurch where it sometimes snows- brrrr).
Things to do and see in Gisborne
Eastwood Hill Arboretum.
This has a great collection of Northern Hemisphere
trees and is nice for exploring and doing walks. You do need a couple of hours
to spare as it is a BIG place (70 hectares). More information here: www.eastwoodhill.org.nz
This
is Rere Falls, near Gisborne. It’s like a free
hydro slide. If you have an old boogie board you can slide down the falls
and you will have a great time! (you may get a few bruises but it’s
better than paying in town). :) My friends and I used to come here during
Summer. There is also a waterfall you can jump off if you are brave (or crazy).
Morere
Hot Springs.
If you have been reading Seppel’s webpage
you will know about Hamner Springs, near Christchurch. Well, this is Gisborne’s
version. It’s about an hour’s drive from town but is worth it.
I don’t think it has water slides like Hamner but there are relaxing
hot and cold pools.
Awesome
sunrise from Wainui Beach. There are lots of beaches
in Gisborne, most are good for surfing and swimming but if you visit- don’t
go to Kaiti Beach, there is a sewerage outflow near by so you may be swimming
in crap!.
Mountain
biking in Motu forest- sorry about the small picture.
I used to do a lot of cycling around Gisborne as it was only a short ride from my parent’s house to town. There is a steep track near the neighbourhood which is good for a short ride (very fast down hill). Seppel, if you ever come back to New Zealand and want to visit Gisborne- I will take you on this track and the one in the picture.
Me
(on the right) with one of my best mates Chris,
at my parent’s place. (Nice hair, huh)
Me
and my brother Peter at the Gisborne Agricultural &
Pastoral Show. These shows are like county fairs, there are trade exhibits,
rides (you can see them in the background), farm animals to look at and other
interesting things. I also have two sisters, Lisette and Danielle. All my
siblings are older than me which is o.k as we get along fine.
My
parents and I at my graduation from Victoria University in Wellington.
I received a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English Literature and History-
this was a great day.
What is this?- well, this is the Jody F Millennium log carrier which ran aground at Waikanae Beach during a storm in February 2002. There was some oil split which meant the beach was closed for a week. Everyone was praying that the ship wouldn’t break up and thankfully it didn’t. This happened a few days before I left for Christchurch. The Gisborne Herald, where I worked, did great stories- www.gisborneherald.co.nz
Gisborne
at night.
And of course…. Me with the man who made this possible,
Seppel, on Avalanche Peak, April 2002.
THANK YOU SEPPEL
Harmish, thank you for your story about Gisborne, that is really awesome. I don't have the time to write as much as I would like, but this is also a good possibility to update my page. Thank you Harmish
Seppel