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The iconic footwear for all occasions, Gisborne NZ For visitors, one of the most surprising things about Gisborne is not the beaches, the sunshine or even the fact that the city sees the first sunrise in the world. It’s the gumboots. Not just any gumboots. Red Bands. And not just on farms. In Gisborne, Red Bands are perfectly acceptable footwear almost anywhere. The supermarket. The farmers market. The café. The bakery. The bottle store. The petrol station. Sometimes all in t

Most visitors walking down Gladstone Road see three unoccupied old buildings. Locals see three unanswered questions. For more than a decade, Gisborne’s most prominent buildings have sat at the centre of one of New Zealand’s most unusual property sagas, a story involving a royal visit, a methamphetamine conviction, Singapore businessmen, international investigations, High Court proceedings and millions of dollars worth of commercial property. It is a story so strange that if i

Gisborne's legendary Pie Sandwich, Gisborne NZ The pie sandwich is not a bakery menu item. This is important. You do not walk into a Gisborne bakery and confidently order: "One pie sandwich, thanks." The person behind the counter would likely stare at you for a moment before deciding whether you were joking. Because the pie sandwich is not commercially manufactured. It is assembled. Usually in a work ute. Or beside a rugby field. Or at a surf break. Or leaning against a dairy

The Voyager Sculpture, overlooked & unloved, Gisborne NZ Tucked beside Waikanae Creek, half disappearing into long grass and reeds, sits one of Gisborne’s strangest public artworks. Most locals have driven past it dozens of times without really noticing it. And honestly, that’s part of the story. The sculpture is called Voyager, created in 2011 by internationally recognised artist Konstantin Dimopoulos. It was part of Gisborne District Council’s public art push at the time, s

The often-seen feature of parking the wrong-way facing traffic. Gisborne NZ Every town has its quirks. Wellington has hills so steep your car develops anxiety. Auckland has traffic reports that sound like maritime warnings. Christchurch has roundabouts appearing in places roundabouts have absolutely no business being. And Gisborne? Gisborne has people casually parking facing the wrong direction, facing traffic on public roads as though this is entirely normal human behaviour.

Wal, dog & admirer. Most walk by, many locals smile with familiarity Gisborne has always had an odd relationship with praise. The beaches get photographed. The sunrise gets romanticised. The wineries get reviewed by people from Auckland who suddenly discover “slower living” after spending forty-eight hours near Wainui and buying an overpriced linen shirt. But the farming community, the people who quietly hold enormous sections of this region together, rarely seem interested i

Captain Cook Statue, Kaiti Hill, Gisborne NZ There is something deeply revealing about the fate of the Captain Cook statue that stood on Kaiti Hill above Gisborne for fifty years. Not merely revealing about Cook. Revealing about us. Because the story is not actually about bronze. Or plaques. Or whether the sculptor got the buttons on Cook’s naval coat historically accurate. No. The story is about a modern society becoming psychologically incapable of carrying the burden of it

One of the replica Endeavour ships standing above Gladstone Road in Gisborne NZ There is something very strange about watching a civilisation dismantle its own symbols while simultaneously insisting it is becoming morally superior. For decades, two replica Endeavour ships stood above Gladstone Road in Gisborne. Most people hardly noticed them after a while. They became part of the landscape in the same way old churches, war memorials and town clocks become part of the psychol