Footprints In The Sand Gisborne

... big time before finals! In the evening met up with the cardiff girls and watched the notebook, making us all cry lots before bed!<br>Next day was pretty similar, except this time instead of sewing a sponge, I sewed a real life leg. Good stuff.<br>Typically, as always, I was on lunch when the arrest call happened, and I'd gone home just as the helicopter landed. Always the way. <br><br>Today was pretty quiet, went in at lunchtime after a horrendous morning of attempting to answer ...

Today started badly, due to being persecuted by the ants I only ate a cereal bar for brekkie. I also phoned Lorraine and Bridget during which time a large pig (I assuming belonging to the campsite) stared at me in a intimidating manor and then knocked my bike over and tried to eat my bag. <br><br>Once I escaped the pig and ants, I set off into the intermittent drizzle . 3 * 200m climbs brought me to tikitike and further 8km along a partially unsealed road ...

... going. Enjoy it immensely though. Although I am supposed to be leaving this morning Brian the hostel owner keeps me distracted long enough to persuade me to stay another night. Brian is a bit of a bushman and horse whisperer and great character, he regales us with his tales of hunting and his brother the champion shepherd. I take the car and head ...

... of NZ). I want to crack on so I continue driving but five mins later I pass a woman in a truck waving a white flag. Thinking something is up I slow down. Sure enough round the next turn there are about 50 cows coming towards me herded by a bloke on a horse and about half a dozen dogs. I stop the car and let them pass, praying that none of the cows kick the car. My fuel is pretty low and theres a dearth of facilies in this part of the country so I decide to try and make it to the ...

... finished painting our Motel and is looking awesome if not annoying -as they are right at front door -in way of all---hey whatever... we are enjoying the bluest of skies in sunny Gisborne, so bring on the summer in Italy, am slowly getting exited - finally ! Wayne having sleepless nights and i'm awake at 5 am ...

... tax on housing (the only local expenses are town government and town roads) is the total tax burden. This manages to cover everything. Police, fire, education, military, roads, courts, nz's version of social security, national health care, national parks, etc.,etc.. In the states the top rate is 35% (although in all fairness this doesn't happen until $350,000, at $60,000 it's only 28%), then there is 6.5% social security , medicare , 6-10% state income tax ...

Woke up to more songs and some golden kiwi fruit picking! Then said goodbye to Chay (our host) and headed off along the coast. Saw White Island off in the distance smoking away and then had a swim in the Pacific Ocean! Our guide treated us to some local swimming...in the nude! He even convinced one of the guys on the bus to jump in naked with him! I wasn't having any of it! Boardies all the way. Back on the bus we did a couple more scenic photo stops before reaching Eastenders ...

Drove along the coast today stoping at little palces of interest and things like that. stoped at quite a few beaches and things which was nice. Stayed at a Farm Stay. Famr was called Eastend Farm ina little.... again... village if you can call it that called Rangitukia. Went on a two hour hourse ride along thebeach adn ...

... to the sidewalk and down the building. What happens is door 1's line overlaps door 2's line and door 3's line overlaps both of them, so on and so fourth. Since no one understands what is going on or speaks English the lines become intermingled and entangled. Monty Python couldn't have dreamed this up. To make matters even more interesting all the carriers changed the bag limits for international from 75 lbs to 50 lbs January 1st. No one told us, thanks guys. Oh by the ...

... fit and lean. He had flown into New Zealand a couple of days ago and immediately started cycling. Distances and times came tumbling out of his mouth faster than a group of Bavarian holiday makers racing to put their towels on the beach: "I cycled for 11 hours without stopping because there was nowhere to stop (?)", "I cycled 200km in one day" (loony) and "I cycled from Y to Z in a couple of hours". His madness by now well established I ...