Gisborne is the first city in the world to see the sun each morning. How cool is that? We spent 4 days here (only 2 of which were sunny unfortunately) and got a great taste of the chilled, laid back nature of life by the beach in Gisborne.

We stayed with a family who owns a private farm walk business. People can come hike through their property on a 3-day walk and be rewarded with amazing views of the Pacific ocean and a cozy stay in their lodges each night. The lodge at the start of the track was our accommodation, and also part of our work during our stay. We did some painting and cleaning around the lodge, and helped gather and sort firewood.

After visiting a church on Sunday we took a picnic lunch to a lookout over the city. It was a gorgeous day with some beautiful views!

We were also able to visit New Zealand’s largest cidery in Gisborne. Harvest Cidery is owned by Bulmer’s (a British company) and they’ve set up a great viewing area for visitors to watch cider being made and bottled on site. Then we were able to taste all the different varieties of cider they made.

We both really enjoyed learning about the history and health benefits of cider. The Pear Cider and Bulmer’s Apple Cider won our taste tests, but it was a 4-pack of Ginger Beer that left with us (one of the best we’ve tasted!) The rain decided to clear so we took a walk on the beach. I’ve decided that Drew should be the model for their next Ginger Beer ad campaign! 😛

View more pictures of our time in Gisborne on Facebook!