Swimming in Gisbourne

With the time change we continue to get up early. TD and I have begun taking early morning walks. Providing you call 6 a.m. early morning. This allows us to get on the road for our travels by 8. The trip from Rotorua to Gisbourne began with a brief water-front drive along the Bay of Plenty and then leads into the Raukumara mountains with more lush hillsides and curving passageways. The trip took about 4 ½ hours.

We are staying at the Waikanae Beach Holiday Park which is located right on the beach. We began our time in Gisbourne by walking the beach. We drove to a beach a little ways from the room looking for bigger waves to body surf on. TD and AD went swimming (no big waves) while I stayed warm reading in the car. The swimming lasted until something nibbled on TD's foot. It was a beautiful sun filled day but the temperature only reached about 65 degrees.

After lunch in the room we ventured into the city center and walked around the river bank. They have some lovely old houses and some historical sights. Capt. Cook discovered this area during his exploring of NZ. There are many natives still living in the area. Almost all the towns have native names that are almost impossible to quickly pronounce. TD & AD went swimming in the Olympic pool that the city has in the waterfront park. It's one of the nicest complexes I've ever seen. Tomorrow we will drive further along the coast to Napier.

Nov. 17th - Twisting and turning on the road to Napier

The sun rises so early here that daylight savings time must not have started. We had become used to dark at 10 in Chile. Now it's dark at 9. I got up first and walk the long beach at 6. There were a number of walkers out when I went out. Our hotel was right on the water, which is nice and calm. DW walked when I returned. We were packed and on the road before 7:30. The roads twist and turn, rarely allowing you to travel at the 100 km speed limit. There were very few towns along the 200 km route. Mostly the track was forested. Plenty of logging trucks past us on the road.

Napier is on Hawke's Bay. It suffered a 7.9 Richter scale earthquake in 1931, the worst natural disaster to ever strike the country. The entire business district was destroyed and rebuilt at once in Art Deco style popular at the time. Today it stands as the largest quantity of Art Deco architecture in the world. In the 1980's the people of Napier realized the treasure they lived with. A massive restoration of the city commenced to highlight the unique value of the city. There are walking and driving tours to take. Some of the buildings have restored interior spaces available to inspect. We enjoyed a video

on the earthquake and rebuilding at the Art Deco Center. For lovers of architecture this is one of the most wonderful cities in the world.

In addition to the historic district, the city's beachfront has a wide promenade. Along it is the National Aquarium, Marine land, swimming pool, and a museum. A fantastic row of 70 year old Norfolk pines planted with the post damage redevelopment line the street, shading the walking path. It is too bad that the ocean has a dangerous undercurrent so there is no one swimming. It's a shame to see beautiful waves with no one swimming in them.

AD Journal

Yesterday we went to a cave in a forest. In the beginning of the tour we saw stalagmites and stalactites. They are limestone formations that are on the ceiling and off the ground made by dripping mineral water deposits. At the end of our tour we took a boat trip.

Deep in the same cave they had glowworms. They are little pupae, which are insects like a caterpillar. They have a line made of the same webbing as a spider. Our guide called it a fish hook. On the boat trip there were a lot of them. In the cave it was very, very dark.

New Zealand

New Zealand

Gisbourne

Nov 16th - Swimming, Touring in Gisbourne - by DW

Nov. 17th - Twisting and turning on the road to Napier

New Zealand