Hawkes Bay

The Hawke's Bay consists of two main cities located only 20 minutes apart. Napier is New Zealand's Art Deco City, a legacy of the devastating 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake which flattened many buildings throughout the region.

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Hastings is the other main city and its surrounding countryside is home to fertile vineyards and orchards, beautiful parks and some fine examples of Spanish Mission architecture.

Other smaller regions in the area include Havelock North and Taradale, both of which are located inland to the west of Napier and offer great cafes, boutique shops, art galleries and a thriving nightlife.

The town of Waipukurau in the Central Hawke's Bay is a thriving rural community and the southern gateway to Hawke's Bay Wine Country. With over 40 wineries in the greater Napier/Hastings area, the Hawke's Bay is renowned for being New Zealand's leading (and oldest) wine and food region and in particular is a foremost producer of award winning red wines.

Major attractions include the region's warm and pleasant Mediterranean climate, the relaxed lifestyle, a low crime rate, excellent educational opportunities and the great outdoor lifestyle opportunities on offer.

From the peace and serenity offered in rural areas to the hustle and bustle of an urban setting, choices are plentiful for those who choose to live and work in this wonderful part of New Zealand.

Education

Hawke's Bay offers a broad range of high quality education options, including state funded public schools and private boarding schools.

In total there are around 130 primary, intermediate and secondary schools in the area. By New Zealand standards schools in the region excel in terms of student to teacher ratios and teacher contact time.

The main tertiary education provider in the region is the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT). EIT is the largest provider of tertiary education on the east coast of the North Island and offers a comprehensive range of courses including eight full-time and three partial degree programmes.

EIT aims to meet the demands of the region's key industry groups as well as the wider employment market and has education centres dedicated to Viticulture, Wine and Food Science and Therapeutic Recreations.

EIT also offers short business courses at centres in Hastings and Waipukurau.

Employment

Key industries

The services sector is the dominant employer in the Hawke's Bay region, employing 85% of total industry employment.

The leading service sector employing industries are primary education, supermarkets, cafes/restaurants, secondary education, central and local government, accommodation for the aged, hospitals, tertiary education and road freight transport.

The manufacturing sector makes up around 14% of total industry employment, with key manufacturing employing industries being electrical equipment, tanning, wool textiles, tobacco products, wine, wooden components, industrial machinery and printing.

Approximately five% of total industry employment comes from within the primary sector where key employment industries include agricultural services, apple/pear growing, pastoral farming, plant nurseries and grape growing/harvesting.

In recent years both the tourism and the viticulture industries have overtaken traditional stone fruit and agricultural trades as key industries for the region.

Other industries such as food processing, wood processing, engineering and technologies have also become increasingly important to the region.

A large number of job vacancies are advertised in Hawke's Bay's daily newspaper, Hawke's Bay Today.

Housing

Hastings and Napier offer a good range of affordable residential housing in a wide variety of suburbs and subdivisions.

Home buyers in the Hawke's Bay have the enviable choice of being able to live either close to the sea, in a picturesque rural setting, in a friendly suburb or in the middle of a small city.

Most rural homes within Hawke's Bay are located either on or near to a school bus service to the nearest primary and secondary schools. Housing options within the main urban areas consist of a mix of inner-city apartments and suburban family homes.

Most residential dwellings in the region are located on good sized sections of land complete with areas for outdoor living.

Furthermore green areas are held in very high regard by Hawke's Bay residents and there are many community parks and gardens situated close to residential areas.

As at March 2005 the average house price in the greater Hawke's Bay region was approximately NZD$240,000. However it should be noted that prices can and do vary considerably depending on the size of the house, its facilities, and the suburb or rural area in which the property is located.

Renting

Like house prices, rental prices in Hawke's Bay vary greatly.

According to the New Zealand Ministry of Housing the average rent for a three bedroom house in Napier is approximately NZD$250 per week. (Rental prices shown are as at Sep 2005).

Hawke's Bay Today is a good start for finding a place to rent. Real estate agents and private landlords list properties in the 'To Let' section of the 'Classified' index, with Wednesday and Saturday editions being the best for real estate.

Not all the properties will be advertised in the newspaper so it can pay to call in to the offices of the Real Estate Agents and ask for a copy of their listings. .

Transport

Napier operates as the gateway to the Hawke's Bay region, serving the greater area with airport, port and rail access.

The region's road network remains largely uncluttered and even during peak times there is no traffic congestion.

A local bus service provides regular public transport, plus there is a series of inter-city buses to and from Napier.

There are also four taxi providers in the region which can be ordered via the telephone or picked up from one of the taxi stands located throughout Napier and Hastings.

Population

Hawke's Bay has a total population of just under 150,000 of which approximately 57,000 are located within the city of Napier.

The next largest city is Hastings with a population of around 28,000 people. The smaller towns of Havelock North and Flaxmere have approximately 10,000 people each.

Hawke's Bay's population density is 10.2 persons per square kilometre - significantly lower than the New Zealand average of 14.1 persons per square kilometre.

Climate

Hawke's Bay's Mediterranean-style climate provides long, warm, dry summers and temperatures in the mid 20's. Winters are typically short and mild, making it a perfect climate for outdoor activities.

The region's high number of sunshine hours and favourable winter and summer temperatures help make it the largest producer of pip and stone fruit and the second largest producer of wine grapes.

Hawke's Bay owes its favourable climate to the Kaweka and Ruahine ranges located on the Western border. These 200 million year old mountains provide protection from the rain bands and storms that move across the country in a west-east direction from the Tasman Sea.

Average annual rainfall is between 600-800mm and plays a vital role in supporting Hawke's Bay's reputation as a leading producer of agricultural and horticultural produce.

Geography

Located on the east coast of the North Island, the landscape of Hawke's Bay ranges from sweeping beaches and coastline to rugged mountains and fertile plains.

From the mountains in the west, the land sweeps down towards the coast, flattening out to become the Heretaunga Plains.

There are a number of wide rivers here which offer great trout fishing. The Central Hawke's Bay coastline also offers great fishing, surfing and swimming at beaches like Karakau, Pourerere and Porangahau.

Hawke's Bay plains are renowned for providing a fertile base for horticulture and large orchards and vineyards. Sheep and cattle farming dominate the hill country parts of the region, with forestry blocks planted in the roughest areas.

Cost of living

The cost of living in Hawke's Bay is relatively low by New Zealand standards.

This is largely due to lower housing costs, however other contributing factors include the region's access to a plentiful supply of natural resources and an abundance of fruit and vegetables.

Residents in the Hawke's Bay also have a very good quality of life, with a clean natural environment, no pollution or traffic congestion and good quality housing.

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