It's one of the remotest parts of New Zealand, but the Tairāwhiti region is attracting young families looking for a better life.
Recent returnees Jamie and Alana Karehana met through their shared passion for health and fitness while working in a gym in Wellington 14 years ago.
"A mutual friend of ours knew that I liked him and recommended he take me to this NZSO concert," Alana said.
"I honestly thought at the time, it was a practical joke.
"I had to google what NZSO stood for."
It only took that one date at the orchestra for them to become a couple.
Alana had been into fitness since hurting her back at the age of 14, when her father Roger Main introduced her to the gym as part of her rehab.
Jamie and Alana share their passion with other people wanting to reach their health and fitness goals. It's taken them around the world, including nine years in Kuwait.
"The people there are really hospitable and welcoming and they treat you like their family," Jamie said.
But Alana saw a different side of Kuwait as a female.
"You definitely live a different experience to a male, especially in the fitness industry, as a mother and as an ex-pat as well.
"There were always things that you had to keep in the back of your mind, every single day.
"So as much as we absolutely loved the people and our clients, there we things I dealt with every day," Alana said
On multiple occasions, Alana was followed, ridiculed, and sworn at by men on quad bikes. Including being followed home from the supermarket with her son Ariki in the car.
"You just had to have your wits about you when you were driving down the road or walking down the street.
"The thing was dressing appropriately as a female.
"So we had to always cover our shoulders and our knees when we went out and wear loose clothing," Alana said.
When Alana trained for a marathon, she was followed and yelled at for wearing activewear while running in the Kuwait heat.
"It got to a point where I just wanted to be comfortable, and you either develop a backbone and handle it, or you just wear really baggy clothes."
When Covid-19 hit, it helped make the decision for Alana to return to New Zealand.
"Mum and Dad are here, so to give Ariki a chance to be around his cousins, uncle and his grandparents was probably the biggest thing.
"Being in private school [in Kuwait], I always wanted to change him just to be around other Kiwis and give him the same upbringing we had as kids."
But getting back wasn't easy. They were bumped off flights seven times and even booked with two different airlines to return home. When they finally made it back, Alana knew she had made the right decision.
"I figured out on the first day of MIQ, that this is where I wanted to be.
"It sounds really cliche, but everyone was so kind coming back into this country."
The Karehana whānau enjoy being back in Gisborne and are now helping the local community reach their health and fitness goals.
Alana works at Sport Tairāwhiti as the Active Rangatahi adviser and Jamie is teaching numeracy and literacy at the YMCA, where he also runs fitness classes.
"More recently we have got involved with Ngāti Porou East Coast Rugby," he said.
"We got an opportunity to train the boys this year, and who knows how many more years."
Another couple making the most of paradise are Gisborne-born Tevita Lolohea and his fiancee Leigh Crawley who returned to Gisborne after working in the mines of Kalgoorlie Australia.
Tevita moved to Australia in 2013, after completing his building apprenticeship.
He was prompted by his older brother who had moved there six months prior for a job opportunity.
The first year of mining saw him earn big, but also spend big.
"I realised that I couldn't save over a certain amount of money, and I was just wasting it all.
"I woke up one day with a real mean hangover and seen myself going nowhere.
"I knew I had to do something or I was going to be stuck working away for the rest of my life," Tevita said.
Leigh also worked in the mines driving trucks. It was a huge change from her previous jobs in retail and not always good.
"It's just like groundhog day. The bus leaves camp at 5.15 in the morning. You stop for smoko, you stop for your lunch, but you are driving around 11 hours a day.
"You're back at camp around six o'clock, have a shower, have your dinner, then wake up again and do it all again the next day, for 14 days in a row," she said.
The couple met in Bali through a mutual friend, where Tevita shared with Leigh his plan to eventually get out of the mines and move back to New Zealand.
"Tevita always had a plan to move back to Gisborne, build a house and raise a family, and I just jumped on board," Leigh said.
The plan meant staying at the mines until they had made enough money to return to New Zealand and live mortgage-free.
In the meantime they got to see the world because their week off in three was spent travelling rather than at a rental that was otherwise empty for two weeks.
However, living away from friends and family took a toll on Tevita.
"You sacrifice a lot of time with your family. You miss out on a lot of things, birthdays, family gatherings, and a lot of Christmases.
"On one side, you are losing all your family, but on the other side, you are seeing the world."
After seven years in mining, they finally reached their goal and moved back to Gisborne, ready to embark on the next part of the plan, building their own home.
"It was daunting, there were a lot of people that didn't believe that we could do it.
"Had a lot of doubt thrown our way, which started to make us doubt ourselves," Tevita said.
Now they are looking ahead with a baby due in April.
"The plan to leave mining, come back build the house, and just raise a family, Covid hasn't affected that, as we are still on that path.
"It's only affected being able to see my family in Aussie," Leigh said.
Tevita and Leigh are still in the process of building their home and hope to move in by September.
While the allure of earning better money overseas can be a major drawcard, both couples say there's no place they would rather be.
"When I got asked overseas what Gisborne is like," Alana said "I just gave them one response, that it is paradise at the end of the Earth."
"Gizzy is just cool," Leigh said. "It's just chilled, it's relaxed, it's a real family vibe, I really enjoy being here."
Tevita sums it up.
"Home. It's where everyone is. It's what I know. It's what I love."
Emergency services were called to the scene about 8.30pm.
