Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting Around
goBay
( 06-878 9250;
www.hbrc.govt.nz
)
ocal buses (with bike racks) run between Hastings,
Havelock North and Napier. Daily Hastings to Napier buses (adult/child $5.20/2.80) take
30 minutes (express) or 55 minutes (all stops). Hastings to Havelock North buses run
Monday to Saturday (adult/child $3.40/1.80, 35 minutes). Buses depart Hastings'
Civic
Square Bus Stop
.
06-878 5055)
is the local cab service.
Hastings Taxis
(
TOP OF CHAPTER
Cape Kidnappers
From mid-September to late April, Cape Kidnappers (named when local Maori tried to
kidnap Cook's Tahitian servant boy) erupts with squawking gannets. These big birds usu-
ally nest on remote islands but here they settle for the mainland, completely unfazed by
human spectators.
The birds nest as soon as they arrive, and eggs take about six weeks to hatch, with
chicks arriving in early November. In March the gannets start their migration; by May
they're gone.
Early November to late February is the best time to visit. Take a tour or the walkway to
the colony: it's about five hours return from the Clifton Reserve car park ($1) at the
Clifton Motor Camp. En route are interesting cliff formations, rock pools, a sheltered pic-
nic spot, and the gaggling gannets themselves. The walk is tide dependent: leave no earli-
er than three hours after high tide; start back no later than 1½ hours after low tide.
No regular buses go to Clifton, but the tour operators will transport you for an addition-
al fee, or you could bike.
Tours
Gannet Beach Adventures
MAP
( 06-8750 898, 0800 426 638;
www.gannets.com
; 475 Clifton Rd, Clifton; adult/child $42/24)
Ride along the
beach on a tractor-pulled trailer before wandering out on the Cape for 90 minutes. A
good-fun, guided return trip over four hours, departing Clifton Reserve.
ECOTOUR
