Gisborne

Hi guys

Trying to work out what to do in Gisborne next year on our cruise. Princess does not have any shore excursions on their website for this port.

Are there any tour operators that can drive you around the city and country to view all the sites?

thanks

Maureen

Hi guys

 

Trying to work out what to do in Gisborne next year on our cruise. Princess does not have any shore excursions on their website for this port.

 

Are there any tour operators that can drive you around the city and country to view all the sites?

 

thanks

Maureen

Gisborne is a relatively new cruise port and they may not have the tours finalised yet.

I am sure they will be offering something.There are lots of vineyards in the area. Try a google search on Gisborne Tourist information centre and that may give a background to what may be available.

Ah, my home town in NZ! I can tell you that Gisborne is not big, but no real public transport. I daresay you will be tendered into the wharf area, which is actually walking distance into town - like across a bridge - in fact you could probably walk to Waikanae Beach too.

Gisborne has great beaches, a fantastic marae, wineries, great seafood, fishing, an arboretum - quite a bit to see and do really.

The visitor's centre is probably the place to contact to pre-organise anything and yes, there are local operators who I am sure would be only to happy to take you out for a day - I guess the proviso is to be clear what time you need to be back at the ship, however the wineries, beaches and even cultural type experiences are not far from town, so you should be able to find something.

http://www.gisbornenz.com/ is the website, you'll see the i-Site (vistors centre) details listed, but perhaps do some research to narrow down what you are most interested in and then they can help you with operators, costs etc.

I do know a good friend of mine was helping organise the day trips when HAL's ships were in port so maybe they are still finalising everything - they work on Gizzie time you know :)

For anyone at all interested in the history of European exploration, don't miss Captain Cook's first landing site in N.Z., and associated monument, along the shore just south of the river mouth in Gisborne.

Anyone with a strong interest in Cook, and the time and stamina for some significant hiking, might want to find a way to the Tolaga Bay area some 50 km up the coast to the northeast. Cook's landing site there, and the "hole in the wall", are at Cook's Cove -- on a headland just to the south of the very long Tolaga wharf. The trail to the Cove is a round trip of a few kilometres over fields and hills, assuming no changes in the several years since we were there.

John

Thank you all for your replies. I have booked a feeding stingrays excursion in the morning and then we will explore Gisborne in the afternoon along with the Cook history sites.

Maureen

I don't know why the various companies have chosen Gisborne as a landfall. Perhaps Napier is too crowded and can't accommodate more than one cruise ship at any one time.

Gisborne doesn't have a lot going for it. Over the years I've found it to be very quiet with very few attractions.

When our cruise docks there in January I will most definitely be staying on board the ship.

Nothing ventured nothing gained!

Can anyone tell me how far is the dock/port that you tender to is from the town got an excursion in the morning and trying to see hard it would be to walk around town after it.

Can anyone tell me how far is the dock/port that you tender to is from the town got an excursion in the morning and trying to see hard it would be to walk around town after it.

Did some research yes, really easy to walk to city centre from port drop off, pretty much there, by foot 2 mins at most. Google earth.

Hi Guys, there is a neat winery tour - offered by Wrights Vineyard and Winery, Gisborne for independent travellers.

It has had some rave reviews on trip advisor and seems very affordable at $65 a hear, including coach, scenic trip, winery tour, wines matched with tapa's and shared platters.

Leaves port at 11am and back around 1.30pm.

There contact details are info@wrightswines.co.nz, http://www.wrightswines.co.nz/cruise-ship-tours-in-gisborne/

See you there!

Bet Princess excursions come, given a bit of time.

Tender off, visited the steam locomotive, then walk along the waterway into the park, circled back thru town and local library,(wifi) and then back to ship.

I'm just back from my Princess cruise with a port stop at Gisborne. I took a ship's shore excursion, a Town & Coastal Drive. We rode around the surrounding area for 2 hours on a coach bus. We went up into the hills, saw some Cook historical sites, and drove along the beach front.

After the excursion, we were dropped off at the town centre. Took a stroll along the main street, and looked in the shops and cafes. There is a free shuttle bus between the city and the port, which we took back to the tender.

Hi Zxc

I just returned to. Was on the Golden Princess and did a reef walk with stingrays

This is a stop on the Oceania RTW cruise next year and I just finished researching it. There is a free app you can download (also available for Android) ... http://www.outeast.co.nz/ ... very helpful. For those who enjoy murals, there is a mural trail that winds through town. Also the museum could be interesting ... http://www.tairawhitimuseum.org.nz/. And I read that there is a lovely marae (Maori meeting house).