This weather sure is fickle! One minute the sun is blazing and the next it’s storming, with rain coming sideways!

I didn’t sleep well last night – the locals were having a party in the street below our room, and they had a wonderful, loud time. But I suppose in a town this size, there isn’t a lot to do. Had breakfast in Maria’s café in the Inn, and met a young man from Vancouver who lives here now. He’s been working on a sheep station for a few years, but is permanently settled – his girlfriend is the cook!

At the south end of the bay is a long, long wharf built in the 1920’s and is the longest in the southern hemisphere. It’s in disrepair now, and the town is looking for funds to restore it. We decided to take a walk out to the end, Zoze and Bryan leading the way. The wind was howling (should have taken Graeme’s advice and carried a rock with me) but sunny. About a quarter of the way out, I looked over my shoulder and saw this enormous black cloud racing towards us, so Chris and I turned tailed and raced back to the shelter of the tall pines. Totally oblivious, Zoze and Bryan kept walking, and walking until …wham! It got them and they tried to make their way back. Bryan was very chivalrous trying to block the blast from Zoze but it didn’t help and they got totally soaked! And it was freezing, too. Cranked up the heat and steamed the car up while they dried off.

Our target for the day is Gisborne and apparently it’s not that far. But New Zealand doesn’t believe in straight roads and what we think will take an hour takes double that time. The area is supposed to be a surfing area, and Chris has been anxiously looking for spots but it has been so churned up that the surf looks like hell. But we pulled over at a spot for a pits stop and went for a walk along the beach. This time it was Chris and I who got caught in it – and this time it was hailing! And my legs gave out after trying to run through the ankle deep, soft sand. But I ended up walking back and got totally soaked. Fortunately the public toilets were right there and I got into dry clothes! Jeez, weird weather.

We found a cool campground with rooms available – they were very nice, just redone but the beds were like rock! The town itself is very pretty with a lot of old buildings built in the late 1800’s early 1900’s. The main street is lined with little stores, in fact, there are not a lot of big Box stores anywhere, the little ones can survive. I have only seen ONE Starbucks! But have seen a Wendy’s, MacDonalds and Burger King too. Gisborne is the first town to see the sun each day, and was where Captain Cook made landfall in New Zealand. The harbor is quite small, with a few pleasure boats and quite a lot of fishing boats. There are also a couple of really good murals. Chris and I went to the harbor for the afternoon and had a snack at the local waterfront tavern, again drinking lovely NZ wine.

We all know Kiwis talk funny – and there is some funny terminology. When we first arrived I looked at the coffee menu at the airport that said “flat white.” Well, what could that be? It’s a latte without the foam! And then there are B.L.A.Ts – we have BLT’s and they have BLAT’s – bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomatoes. I’m learning!

Pix at the shutterfly link on the left.