OFF TO NAPIER WE GO

 Today we start the third leg of our 5 day jaunt around the East Cape.

We are off to Napier next.  This is another stretch of road that I have never been on.   Stew's been on it once, back in the 2000's.

So, new territory still.

Once we arrive in Napier, we will have a tiki tour around, before meeting up with GM, who is a regular commentor on the blog.  I have meet her some years ago when she took one of the first puppies from Coco.

Sadly, that puppy died from, I think Parvo?  Now she has George, hence she is known as GM (George's Mum).  I call her Robyn.  😂😊

Her and my Mum used to 'talk' via the blog quite a bit too.  

So, we shall have a lovely day I'm sure.

SIXTY DAYS TO GO!

 

Another good night's sleep... and today is a day off travelling.

We will potter around Gisborne, take in the  shops, and the scenery.

ABOVE:  The countdown continues.  It is slowly going by.  Two months to go.

Right, time to get up and start our day here.

1.36 pm.  We have been out and about all morning.

Shops.  Beach. Scenery. 

We are not into visiting wineries, walking and cycling tracks, historic places, etc.  

We just like doing little drives around the area.

Which we did.

ABOVE: Our first stop was the Marina.  It's not too big.

ABOVE:  OMG, I'd kill to have that on me front lawn!  Talk about a massive rusty bit. And an anchor to boot.

ABOVE:  Last night we watched the first ship in the row being loaded with logs.  This morning it had tug boats around it, being readied to be guided out of the dock, and off on it's way.

ABOVE: We went up this lookout hill...

ABOVE:  A very pretty drive up... and LOTS of people walking up and down the lookout hill.

There were also plenty of walking tracks through the bush.

ABOVE:  I stumbled on this plaque.  Special.  I loved Princess Diana.

ABOVE: The view was worth it.

NOT that we walked up that friggin hill!  

ABOVE:  The logging ship being guided out into the harbour.

ABOVE:  Lovely views from the top of the lookout.  I feel like the sky was prettier.

ABOVE:  One logging ship leaving, and top left, one waiting to come in.

ABOVE:  I bought ONE piece of fabric here in Gisborne.  Because a) they had bugger all patchwork fabric, and b) it was up to $39.50 a metre!

No thank you.

ABOVE:  We drove out to Midway Beach, which was really just a continuation of the main beach out from Gisborne.

ABOVE: The entire shoreline is littered with wood and driftwood.  It was messy. 

ABOVE: We have gathered a few pieces of driftwood here and there, for a future project.

ABOVE:  A little rotunda on the Waimata River, down by the main shopping street.

ABOVE: We had lunch at The Rivers Restaurant and Bar, right beside the main road and river.  It was amazing how many logging trucks, both fully loaded and empty drove past.  On their way to the port, or out again.

Eastland Port is the second biggest logging port in New Zealand.

ABOVE:  Lunch/dinner.  Very nice, chips were very average though.

We are now back at the motel to do this update (it takes up to an hour to do this), then we might wander out again.

5 pm:  We went out for another little tiki tour around the area.

We ended up at Wainui Beach first.

ABOVE:  A rickety little boardwalk to get down to the beach.

It is a very long surf beach.

ABOVE:  A local resident, he didn't bat an eye at me.

EVERYBODY LOOK TO THE LEFT...

EVERYBODY LOOK TO THE RIGHT...

And now you have seen Wainui Beach!

ABOVE: Wainui Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.

It's a very exposed beach, so no doubt needs that facility.

ABOVE:  Memento of Wainui Beach.  The driftwood sucked on this beach.

After that beach, we drove out to Sponge Bay Beach.  

ABOVE: Sponge Bay Beach was totally closed off to the public due to some very significant slips.  It was rather dangerous.

ABOVE: A lovely little island easily seen from Sponge Bay Beach.

If I didn't like shops so much, I'd love to live on me own little island.

ABOVE:  NOW.  In case you are sick to the back teeth of beaches!  I give you cows.  Cos I can.

They were smelly.  Just so you can appreciate the effort I took.  😂😉😊

7.20 pm. Sitting in bed watching the telly. About to send Stew out for some nibbles... Catch ya tomorrow. 

ANOTHER BIG STRETCH

 

Today we have the longest stretch of our trip.

370 odd kilometres from Whakatane to Gisborne, following the coast most of the way.

This is the stretch we have never done before, that and Gisborne to Napier, which will happen on Tuesday.

We are very interested to see what it's like, if it's a twisty road, hilly or what? No one tell us! We will find out on our own. 

I didn't show you the fabric I bought yesterday in Rotorua, so here it is:

ABOVE:  White bumblebees on black, a lovely blue grunge and a floral that once upon a time I would never have considered, but tastes change.  And I really like it.  I can see it teaming up with the blue and some green/brown/pink fabrics.

We had a good night's sleep here, it's a lovely motel.  But, time to move on...  catch ya later.

ABOVE: Sunrise at Ohope Beach, just over the hill from Whakatane. It's 8.09 am ... and off we go again. 

10.45 am. We have done 170 kms so far, and just crossed the boundaries between Opotiki and Gisborne districts. 

ABOVE... Well I had to take a photo, right? We may never come this way again.

12 noon and we have stopped at  Te Araroa for lunch. After leaving here we head inland until we hit Tikitiki on the coast again. 

We are about half way to Gisborne. 

ABOVE: Toasted sandwich and chips. A more modest lunch today.

Time to move on. More photos this evening. 

ABOVE: White Island steaming away from Opotik Beach.

ABOVE:  Beautiful view looking back from Maraenui Hill Lookout.

ABOVE:  Colourful trees in the middle of the wop wops.

ABOVE:  So pretty at Omaio.

ABOVE:  Coming into Te Kaha, for you Linda.

ABOVE: Te Kaha Beach Resort.  It probably wasn't here back in the day Linda.  😊

ABOVE: Water view from the Te Kaha Beach Resort carpark.

ABOVE:  Waihau bay.

ABOVE:  Looking towards Cape Runaway, just before we headed on to Hicks Bay.

ABOVE:  Raukokore Anglican Church, in the middle of nowhere.  It stood out like a sore thumb!  So clean and stark white, what a backdrop!

ABOVE: On the beach behind the church.  Looking towards Cape Runaway again.

ABOVE:  Raukokore rocks, I really wanted this one, but it was just too big.  So I settled on a little one.

ABOVE: We had lunch here, at Te Araroa.  It was beautiful here.

ABOVE: on Te Araroa beach, where I got a rock shaped a bit like an arrow head.

The headland is Cape Runaway.

ABOVE: The only cafe in Te Araroa, and they let you sign your name on the walls!  So of course I did, plus my 'mark'.  CJH intertwined.

ABOVE: An old mining ruins on the Waiapu River.

ABOVE: Stew stopped in the middle of the road, on the bridge for me to get that mining ruins shot, then he got all twitchy about being stopped in the middle of the road!

Like... the road was hardly busy!

ABOVE: There were several places where we had to stop due to the road being repaired.  

Temporary stop signs... lol.

ABOVE:  Tokomaru Bay views (x2).

ABOVE: There were lots of hills with visible signs of the slips caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.

ABOVE:  My favourite place of the day.  Tolaga Bay Wharf.

So, so cool.

ABOVE: things on the path leading to the wharf.

I wondered what they were?

ABOVE:  On the wharf.... lots of photos above.  It was lovely.  Quite a few people fishing, a few swimming.  Oh and those 'things' on the path came from the wharf, part of the lifting apparatus for boats I reckon.

You were not supposed to go to the end due to the state of the wharf's foundations etc.  But we did.  

Most people did.

It wasn't our day to go swimming.

ABOVE:  I felt a little 'unsafe' standing under the wharf, but meh, ya only live once.

ABOVE:  Makorori Lookout not too far from Gisborne.

ABOVE:  Safely in Gisborne by around 4 pm.  And back to somewhere that sells Diet Coke!  We couldn't find a single place that sold it from Whakatane to Gisborne!  Outrageous! 

It is now 6.11 pm, we've had time to unpack at our motel, and do this update. Which took me over an hour I might add.

Time to go for a little walk.

Little walk along the sea shore done and dusted.  Then we came back for some dinner, which was chicken and cheese on buns.

Now?

Winding down, watching some TV, then bed.

Catch ya tomorrow.