 |  |
Thanks to Trevor Mills, a Gisborne resident, who has thoughtfully provided help with much of this information
Disclaimer: This information is intended for Teenage Wildlifers and other Bowie fans who are planning to, or thinking about attending the Gisborne 2000 concert in Gisborne, New Zealand. David Bowie is confirmed as the primary act for the worldwide televised event, and will take the stage shortly after midnight on January 1, 2000. This page is malleable: information will be added to as readers see fit (if you have any comments about what you'd like to see, feel free to email them). Information pertaining explicitly to the concert will be posted on the Gisborne concert page.
Useful Links gisborne2000-list-request@etete.com
Put subscribe in the subject of your message2000 Live - live broadcast
Gisborne 2000 - official page
Sign up for the Gisborne 2000 mailing list! If you want to know more about how to get tickets, what to do and where to stay in Gisborne, how to get there, how to meet up with other Teenage Wildlife fans etc, simply send an email message to gisborne2000-list-request@etete.com with the word subscribe in the subject of your message. All questions and answers should be sent to gisborne2000-list@etete.com.
Read more in the following sections.
- Buying Tickets - how to get a ticket to this once in a millennium event.
- Getting There - information on making the trip to Gisborne from within New Zealand.
- Accommodation - places to stay in the Gisborne region
- Gisborne - information on the city itself, temperature, laws etc.
- Laws - information for those inclined to "party hard".
- Other Millennium Events - Bowie isn't the only thing happening in Gisborne.
- More info... - other useful places to find out more information about the concert, Gisborne, and New Zealand in general.
Buying Tickets
Useful Links The Gisborne 2000 concert is a 24 hour festival, starting on the 31st and continuing through the 1st, with accompanying laser effects, fireworks, and of course, three main acts, Split Enz (reuniting after 15 years just for this night), David Bowie, and a yet to be announced opera singer and symphony orchestra.
The easiest option for visitors to New Zealand is to buy an all-inclusive package from Odyssey's End. This guarantees you a ticket to the event, accommodation, and travel to and from Gisborne from within New Zealand.
If you're already in New Zealand, or you prefer to do it yourself, tickets are available online from Ticketek New Zealand at prices of $599, $499 or $399 (New Zealand dollars - $NZ1.00 = $US0.54) depending on how close you want to sit in the 30,000 seat stadium.
If you're interested in buying, selling or trading tickets, you should also check out the Teenage Wildlife ticket page, where you may advertise (for free) your request to other Bowie fans.
Getting There
This section assumes that you are already going to be in New Zealand for the New Year's celebration. If you live outside New Zealand, you will need to make arrangements with your local airlines to get yourself to New Zealand (which may be an expensive proposition around this time of the year). The main carriers to New Zealand are Air New Zealand, Qantas and United Airlines. Other airlines fly in on a less frequent basis, while others codeshare with the above 3 carriers.
By Plane
Useful Links Air New Zealand is the only airline which flies into Gisborne. Direct flights leave from Auckland and Wellington. At this stage, flights will be very difficult to find on the 31st and 1st, so you may need to be flexible in your arrival and departure times, and stay outside of Gisborne until the day of the concert (see accommodation).
By Car
Useful Links Highway Map (Transit NZ)
Eastland Tourism (road maps/guides/times)
HertzWarning: Gisborne is in one of the most remote parts of the North Island of New Zealand. If you think you're going to be able to easily drive from either Auckland or Wellington to Gisborne on December 31st, when 100,000 other people are trying to do the same, don't be surprised if you miss out on Bowie's midnight concert! I strongly advise either arriving in Gisborne on the 30th (in which case you may have trouble finding a place to stay), or driving and staying in a nearby city the night before, and making a short trip on the 31st. The times quoted in this section for driving assume a trouble-free trip under normal driving conditions. You could expect these times to swell significantly (perhaps even double) on the days of the 31st and 1st, so be very conservative when planning any arrival by car.
Gisborne is connected by road to the rest of New Zealand primarily by State Highway 2, the main road in and out of from the north and south. Note that roads in New Zealand are not the 6 lane straight, wide interstates or autobahns you may find in the USA or Europe. State Highway 2 is a two lane (one lane each way) sealed road, which Transit New Zealand expects to be able to carry a maximum of about 250 vehicles per hour in each direction in and out of the city.
Gisborne is around 504 km from Auckland (6-7 hour drive), and 550 km from Wellington (probably longer than 7 hours). The closest major cities to Gisborne are Rotorua to the north (around 3 1/2 - 4 hours drive), and Napier in the south (around 3 hours drive). Smaller towns include Opotiki to the north (2 hours), and Wairoa to the south (1 hour 15 minutes).
Car rental firms are plentiful in New Zealand. Along with the standard multinationals such as Avis and Hertz, there's also a number of local companies who will likely charge less (see the Yahoo listing). A loss damage waiver is optional, but generally is less than $10 per day, which is a fairly good deal. Petrol (gas) is not as cheap as the US, but generally a lot cheaper than Europe. At the beginning of 1999, gas was around $NZD0.90 per litre, or around $USD2 per US gallon. Drivers must be over 21 years old and if you are not from the US, Australia, Canada or Europe (and have a valid license), you will need an International Driver's License to rent a car.
Note: In New Zealand (like Australia, Japan and Great Britain), cars drive on the left side of the road. There have been a number of horrific accidents over the past few years on New Zealand roads involving foreigners who have flown in, rented a car and started driving. When a hazardous situation arises, reflexes take over, and if you're not used to driving on the opposite side of the road, you often do the wrong thing (e.g. pull into the line of the oncoming traffic instead of pulling off to the side). Just a warning to be careful, particularly since practically no New Zealand roads have a center dividing median strip to prevent head-on crashes.
By Bus
Useful Links Intercity Coachlines - primary NZ bus company
Intercity runs air-conditioned, comfortable buses from Auckland and Wellington to Gisborne once a day, leaving early in the morning and arriving about 6 p.m. in both cases (assuming no interruptions). If you're staying in Rotorua, there's an additional bus to Gisborne which leaves early in the morning and arrives in Gisborne around midday.
By Rail
Useful Links Railways in New Zealand are seldom the preferred mode of travel amongst locals, and the main passenger rail carrier, TranzRail does not even run a passenger service to Gisborne. They do run a service to Rotorua and Napier from Auckland and Wellington, so if you can then hook up with some other method of transportation from those closer cities, you may want to take a look at this option.
Accommodation
Useful Links Sunhost - home stays, house rentals, camping sites
Eastland Accommodation - listing of motels/hotels, lodges, camps in the Gisborne area
Accommodation in Gisborne around the time of the New Year is expected to be unbelievably tight (this is not an exaggeration). If you are not already booked, you can expect that you will not be able to find a hotel or motel bed to stay. The city itself has only 30,000 residents, and visitors for the millennium are expected to number over 100,000, making accommodation one of the primary concerns for visitors.
Eastland Tourism has a section on accommodation in the Gisborne region, including motels and hotels, lodges, farmstays, backpacker and camping grounds. We don't expect you'll be able to find a motel or hotel in Gisborne itself at this stage, but you may be able to find accommodation in a nearby town.
Another company, Sunhost, is a Gisborne based venture set up specifically for the millennium event to find rental housing, home stays, and camping sites for the more than 100,000 visitors expected to descend on Gisborne for the New Year's Eve celebration.
One likely scenario for do-it-yourself visitors is to spend all of the 31st and 1st at the concert without accommodation. You could either fly in on the 31st and out again on the 1st (if flights are available), or find accommodation in a nearby town and make the drive (early!) on the 31st to arrive in time for the concert. The Eastland Tourism site is a good place to start looking for accommodation in nearby towns.
Gisborne
Useful Links Eastland Tourism - Gisborne information
Gisborne lies on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, approximately equidistant from New Zealand's two main cities (Auckland and Wellington). Both the first Maori and European discoverers of New Zealand are believed to have landed near here.
Gisborne city has a population of around 30,000 people (expected to swell to well over 100,000 for the 2000 celebration) who enjoy one of the best climates in New Zealand with warm summers and mild winters. Yearly sunshine averages around 2200 hours, and temperatures during the summer (e.g. New Years) can range up into the mid 30's Celsius (95 Farenheit), although typically they're more in the 25-30 range (78-88). Although it can rain at any time in New Zealand (being surrounded by water), Gisborne is protected from the prevailing weather which comes across the Tasman from Australia by the mountain ranges in the middle of the North Island. It's often the case that while the rest of New Zealand will have rain or drizzle, Gisborne will be basking in clear sunshine.
The Gisborne district boasts alluvial river flats, and combined with the generally mild temperatures, it's a region famed for its agriculture such as kiwifruit, grapes, citrus and other subtropical fruits. The wine industry, in particular, produces a lot of product in the Gisborne region. See the Eastland Tourism page for more details on the Gisborne area.
Laws
Useful Links New Zealand Drug Foundation - laws and information
New Zealand has a typical restrictive drug policy, and if you are caught importing so-called "Class A" drugs such as heroin, cocaine, LSD, peyote, magic mushrooms into the country, you will likely face the full extent of the law (this means possible life imprisonment). For more information on the classifications and punishments, see the NZ Drug Foundation page.
Alcohol tends to be the preferred drug of choice for most New Zealanders, and while being intoxicated is not a crime, being intoxicated and disorderly will likely land you in jail overnight. Given the nature of the event (the 2000 celebration), it's unclear exactly how strict the local police will be on partying revelers, so long as they are not committing any other crimes. On the flip side, various ugly incidents have occurred on some New Zealand beaches during New Year's celebrations in the past (e.g. riot squads being brought out to quell drunken youths rampaging through town), so don't be surprised if the police force makes a strong showing at this event.
Millennium Events
While Bowie is the main reason anyone reading this page is likely to be going to Gisborne, there are also a large list of other events planned for the Year 2000 rollover in the "first city to see 2000". If you're planning to be around the Gisborne area for more time and want other things to see and do, consider the following.
- WA 165 Steam Locomotive Tours
- Whangara Angus/Harley Davidson Tours
- 2000 First to the Sun Cycle Tour
- Steinlager Ocean Yacht Series
- Christian Servant 2000 Camp
- Habitat for Humanity
- First Light Bullock Trail
- Holiday of a Lifetime
- Caravan Millennium Rally
- Gisborne Rodeo
- Te Ra Arts Festival 2000
- Book Fair and Auction
- Maori (Ethnic) Festivals
- NZ Tall Ships Celebrations
- First Light Te Kowhai Music Festival
- 2000 Planet Eart Peace Day
- Te Kuri 2000
- Eco 2000
- Te Aumiti Millennium 2000
- Combined Motorcycle Rally
- Town Clock New Year Eve's Party
- Whaka Whiti Te Ra Festival
- Art in the Park
- Golf
- Country Sports Day
- Polo
- First Light Family Mardi Gras
- Battle of the Streets Motorcycle Race Series
- First Light Triathlon
- Speedway 2000
- Maori Congress
- Tolaga Bay Beach Horse Races
- Charity Dog Trials
- First Light Summer Swim Festival
- NZ Surfing Championships
- Off Shore Power Boat Race
Other Links
Here's some links to other places on the web that you may find useful when planning your trip to the Millennium concert.
- Teenage Wildlife Gisborne Concert Page
- The place for all Bowie fans to read press releases, buy and sell tickets, register themselves as a concertgoer, and arrange to meet other Bowie fans at the event.
- Gisborne 2000
- The official Gisborne 2000 Millennium festival page
- Ticketek New Zealand
- Buy tickets online from the official ticket distributor
- Gisborne City
- Gisborne City's official page - includes links to other businesses in the area
- Eastland Tourism
- Site with information on places to see, roads to travel on the East Coast of the North Island
- New Zealand Tourism Online
- Full information on accommodation, attractions, transportion all around New Zealand.
