Our last night in a tent!
Day 347
Gisborne, North Island, New Zealand
Day 347
Gisborne, North Island, NZ
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB!! We hope you have the most wonderful day!! Won't be long till we can all celebrate with a red!
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*It's also my friend Kath's birthday today! She's been my friend of 28 years..and was my bridesmaid. This year has been the first year, we've had NO contact!!!! (!) We'll have to catch up when we get home and see what the silence has been all about!!*
Today was a day of driving. Again! We left Wellington to head for Gisborne where we were meeting Angie's sister Gloria for dinner. Our anticipated time was about 7.30pm. the average speed is 70km and because we took the 'scenic route' we travelled about 600km 's.
On the way we passed a few places our Wellington Taxi driver had suggested we go to..like Te Reinga which had very beautiful views, when we could see them through the rain!!!
One thing is for sure, when it rains in NZ, it destroys the beauty, everything becomes very grey and dismal. The clouds the colour of the lakes and the mountains are covered in cloud so there is misty haze all over the place.
We stopped at Masterton for lunch, but due to the rain, we had to eat in the car. Lunch consisted of fruit and leftovers and knowing we only had a few days before we were flying, we wanted to eat as much as we had rather than toss it!
As we got closer to Gisborne we saw turkeys on the roadsides..and sheep that were not fenced in. We had images of loading up and presenting Gloria with our nights meal. hehe
Once in Gisborne, Angie's hometown and where the sun rises first in the world, we found the park, called Waikanae Beach Holiday Park we quickly put our tent up and attempted to find Gloria's, with help from the young Maori guy at the bottle
shop.
It wasn't too hard to find, and loaded up with a Gisborne chardonnay and a Hawke's Bay red we met Gloria and her Tongan student and ended up staying till almost midnight.
It was so nice to have dinner in her home, the first since we had dinner at Franks in Belgium! Made us realised how much we missed home cooked meals and family and friends.
Gloria was so gorgeous, and hospitable. Sitting back in her warm, homely lounge and eating her wonderful home made quiche, homegrown broccoli and tasty salad We heard lots of stories and details of family history which completed a bit of the jigsaw for
us. She had her TV on..
So.. we also heard snippets of Kevin Rudd's 'sorry speech' which was interesting. I think it's about time, sorry isn't a hard thing so say, and it can have positive repercussions. But I'm sure the country will be divided on this.
Was a Great Night. If we hadn't been locked out of the Holiday Park it would have been Perfect...but, and we didn't know this, if you are not inside the park before 11pm, you have to keep your car outside.
From what we heard about Gisborne, (large crime and theft area) this was not an option we were happy with. So at midnight, Greg rang Security!
They helped us by showed us an alternate way in......but it meant we weren't in bed unil after 1am...Ggrr. We knew we had a long tiring day driving the the next day!
Slept well though, there's nothing like our air mattress for knocking a person out. SO comfortable!
