Pacific Harbour Motor Inn Gisborne

... a bit windy and wet, so the hot springs were the perfect way to spend a wet day. They were rather too hot at 44 degrees, but nice still. Slightly disapointed when the on site gypsy caravan was empty, as it said free palm reading. Oh well, theres always next time to have your palm read by a maori gypsy...<br><br>Sunday the weather was great which was fantastic as we headed up north of the east coast this time to a place called tolaga bay, with one of the longest piers in the ...

... course the longest ride will be from this town call Opotiki to Grisborne, passing through mountain gorges. We took a total of 6 rides to get to our destination but the last hike ride we got is the most memorable, it was a Maori who gave us a ride and he is one funny guy telling us Maori culture, beliefs, his own story as a NZ soldier in the 70s and answering questions we have for on regards to the Maori. I was ...

... Later that day, Andy, Paul, the kids and Tippen (their french foreign exchange student) headed for the Mount for the buskers festival. For those of you who don't know, a busker is basically a street performer. The main street in Mt. Manganui was filled with all kinds of performers from people juggling fire to comedians, to people acting like statues to people singing (some better than others). We got there kind of late in the ...

"It was a Sparrow" she said. My temporary flatmate laughed at me as I described it to her. I had just peeled it out from under my wiper, and was laughing and sad at the same time. My first surf experience in Gisborne didn't go so well. I got really badly tossed and only managed to surf the white-water on the way in. The sun was low in my eyes, and I struggled to see the road in front of me as I ...

... a town on a map here is actually just a house. We drove past one set of derelict petrol pumps and saw a second set and had to give it a go as by then we were beyond empty on the gauge. When we arrived we saw a disappointed couple coming out of the Tavern and they were in a similar but not as desperate situation. We were told that they were selling petrol by the can for $30 which isn't exactly a bargain when it's ...

... Tasmin and the Pacific. Any week Ruhapehu ski areas are open 5 days is considered a good week. Apparently letting people stumble around in zero visibility conditions on a cliff riddled mountain is considered too risky even by NZ standards. If kiwis consider something too dangerous you really, really should pay attention. These are the people that build bungee platforms into office buildings. Lodging is interesting. There are regular hotels and stuff in town but there ...

... us and waited for the Stingray to come in. After a short while they started appearing and they were massive, about 1.5metres diameter and huge tails with big stings, eek! The guide was feeding them to start with and then it was our turn, you had to hold the fish in your hand and stick your hand under the stingray to let it hoover up the food, I failed to move my hand away quick enough and was then bitten ...

... is a case of self defence" said a representative from the Judicial Unit. Talk about a rude surprise!!!!! More Stuff. NZ is a very cool place but not nirvana. Here are various gripes and observations in no particular order. Binge drinking and drink driving. NZ recognizes it has a real problem with serious binge drinking and alcohol related car accidents. This seems to be a cultural thing on both the maori and white side. What? The british drinking. Never happened ...

Endlich sind wir an dem bisher östlichsten Punkt angekommen, den wir wahrscheinlich erreichen werden. Wir haben nach einer regnerischen Nacht im Sonnenschein den Leuchtturm am East Cape gestürmt. Weiter ging die Reise an der Küste entlang bis kurz vor Gisborne, wo wir wieder ein wunderschönes Schlafplätzchen gefunden haben. Heute Früh konnten wir ...

... know the roads. I finding 70- 80 km per hour (about 50 mph) on the major roads is more or less a realistic average speed. In good weather. Yes, I did say 50mph on the major roads, if you push. People here fly a lot. We took a long weekend and explored Eastland. Eastland is the big lump sticking out of the right side of the north island. The exploration options are severely limited. You have SH 2 across the peninsula (175 kilometers) or SH 35 around the ...