A flat plain with two hundred kilometres of cycle trail on it, a peak with the region’s best view above it, surf beaches half an hour east, and hill country and ranges behind. Most of it is free and almost all of it is close.
Te Mata Peak
The landmark, and the region’s daily ritual. A steep ridge rising straight off the plain behind Havelock North, with a road to the top and a network of tracks up it. From the summit you get the whole bay, the plain, the ranges and, on a clear day, Ruapehu.
It takes about forty minutes to walk up and it is busy at dawn and dusk with people doing exactly that before or after work. Te Mata is also a place of significance in local tradition, and the story of the sleeping giant is worth knowing before you climb it.
The coast
Flat, sealed and linked, the network runs along the rivers, around the coast and between the cellar doors. It earns its Great Ride status by being useful: the same paths carry a family Sunday, a wine loop and a commute.
The rides themselves are below — the Wineries loop is the one to do first.
On two wheels
The Hawke’s Bay Trails deserve their own paragraph. Around two hundred kilometres of linked, sealed, flat path across the plain, along the Tukituki and Ngāruroro rivers and around the coast — one of New Zealand’s Great Rides, and unusually useful because it connects real destinations.
The Wineries Ride is the one people do first: a flat loop between cellar doors with a designated driver or a shuttle at the end. The Landscapes and Water Rides cover the coast and the rivers. Bike hire is easy and the whole network is family-friendly.
Inland and upward
Useful links
Nine chapters on Hawke’s Bay. Everything national — visas, registration, tax, renting, driving, schools, te ao Māori — lives in Moving to New Zealand. When you’re ready to look at roles, see what’s open now.