Casa Blanca Motel Gisborne

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W srode wieczorem wrocilismy do Wellington, zeby na drugi dzien Kirsty zaczela swoj pierwszy dzien w pracy, a ja pierwszy dzien wolontariatu. Wazniejsze jest to, ze ustawa Zwiedzaj i Pracuj przeszla Senat i czeka tylko na podpis prezydenta i 14 dni do uprawomocnienia - czyli juz najwiecej miesiac dzieli mnie na pierwsze kroki i uroki szukania platnej pracy - trzymajcie kciuki! ;)

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Leszek i Kirsty

Took a 12 hour bus ride to Gisborne on the east coast. It calls itself the 'first city in the world to see the sunrise each day'. Although there are actually places further to the east that see it first, I guess they aren't considered cities. Well, the first morning was rainy, so I didn't see it then, but I did get up in time to watch it rise on day 2. Not ...

... dropping our stuff off in the room we went back downstairs. There were a few Germans, Japanese, and English people at the hostel but nobody seem particularly sociable so Andy and I went outside on the porch to play some rummy. It was quite cold outside but we were adequately dressed so it wasn't a problem. After crushing andy in rummy we headed to bed around 11 so that we could wake up at 5:30 the next morning to see the first sunrise.

... So fab! So a total of 4 nights in the car. We decided we would treat ourselves to an actual bed and a warm shower...and some Thanksgiving food! Well, sort of. We got a roasted chicken from Pakn'Save, a cheesecake, and some pineapple slices for me. There were also some Canadians at the YHA (Youth Hostel Association) we were at who made some cranberry sauce! YES!!! It was a very lovely meal. A little different to spend Thanksgiving outside, but it was nice!

... again was just stunning! When we arrived back at the camp i carved my own pendant out of bone. It was good fun and I got to choose my own design so it is personal to me - thing is i forgot to ask what the design i chose actually means! The following day we got up at 5.30am to watch the sunrise over the beach. We were the first people in the world to see the sun as the East Cape is the most Eastern point in the world (a few of us ...

... half hour on to Morere, which is just a small strip of buildings along the roadside. We found the sign for our backpacker lodging for the night, the 'Moonlight Lodge', and pulled into the driveway. After threading down a single-lane gravel road for a bit, over a one-lane bridge with no railings, and then up an ever-roughening road that made me wonder if our little Civic would make it, we come to a cluster of buildings in a field with sheep grazing. Seeing no further ...

... no beds at the ski area itself. At the ski area there are only private club houses. These are pretty cool. Not only are they at the base of the ski area, but scattered quite a ways up the area as well. The club houses are kind of a communal living type thing. You have basically bunk rooms and everyone gets assigned tasks for the weekend. On the other hand, I don't know how cool it is to hike a half a mile up the mountain in a blinding snowstorm with all your ski gear and ...

... are also available year round with the types changing with the season. There are lots of local farm stands and people selling fresh picked fruits and veggies on the side of the road off the back of a truck. Really fresh, like you need to wash it pretty thoroughly unless you like dirt in your food. Stop at one of the roadside trucks at the end of the day and although the selection is thinned considerably the price is subject to serious adjustment. Try that at ...

... massacured a few of the locals left them a few diseases and took off again.. strange they would leave a monument for him but anyway its an attraction. Gisbourne itself is really nice and in one way is pretty isolated as it is quite a distance to any other reasonable sized towns. Drove on south again passing through Napier and on to windy wellington..

... The drive is absolutely beautiful, along the coast, and the towns are pretty much non-existant. The past 3 nights we've just ended up sleeping on the beach, under the stars, cooking our dinner on the fire. It's been absolutely perfect- just a reminder of the simple things in life. We are also in Maori area (the indigenous population of NZ) and its been neat to hangout with some of the Maoris and learn more about their ...