Cook's Cove

Just north of Gisborne is a little town called Tolaga Bay, with the longest wharf in the Southern Hemisphere, 660 meters long. We drove there, not only to walk the length of the wharf but also to hike the Cook's Cove Walk. This was a fabulous walk up hills through sheep and cow pastures ('cow pie minefield'), to lookouts over the ocean and cliffs, down through the bush (jungle!) to one place called The Hole in the Wall and to the sheltered little harbour where Cook landed in 1769 after leaving Poverty Bay. The hole in the wall is a natural arch through the cliff side framing the sparkling ocean and rock formations on the other side. Cook's Cove is a beautiful bay with a little group of islands and arches where it meets the open ocean. A catamaran was anchored just off the islands making our views even more perfect! We had our picnic lunch while watching the tide start to fill the bay, before heading back.