Top things to do in Hawke's Bay

Things to do in Hawke's Bay gather around three bases on New Zealand's east coast: Napier, Hastings and Havelock North. Napier sits on the waterfront and was rebuilt in the Art Deco style after the 1931 earthquake, so guided walks and vintage car rides through town are a regular fixture. Hastings, about a 20-minute drive away, is the middle of the wine country, and Havelock North rises into the Te Mata hills beside it.

Wine is what the region is best known for. Hawke's Bay is New Zealand's oldest wine region, the Gimblett Gravels is the name to know for reds, and the cellar doors are linked by nearly 200 km of flat off-road trails. The coast has its own pull: at Cape Kidnappers a large gannet colony returns every September.

Most visits pair a day among the vines with a day out. Hawke's Bay food and drinks sit alongside Hawke's Bay tours to the gannets and the cycle trails, and zoos and aquariums start from Napier's waterfront.