Easy Days on the East Cape

Man, it's easy to cruise through a day on the beautiful East Cape.  We set off this morning from Te Araroa, after seeing a stunning orange sunrise.    Made it to Hicks Bay after a very short drive.   Had a lovely little walk on the beach,  and I found a paua shell.  (Took a photo of it and left the real thing behind.) PB found a big bone and fortunately we managed to convince him to leave that behind too!
Carried on around the coast to a beautiful bay called Oruaiti. We had morning tea there and running races on the beach.   Saw a police ute drive up the beach and back up onto the road. 
We continued to the next spot,  a wee playground and freedom camping site right by the water at Te Kaha.   There were horses grazing, tied up with rope.   In fact,  we could not get over how many horses we saw on the way around the East Cape from Gisborne.  Today we counted over 50.
We had our lunch there and DH went out into the bay on the kayak to have a fish.   No luck, but the day was so still and water so calm that it seemed rude not to get out there. 
PB and I made chocolate chip biscuits and then he played on the playground.   We took his net down to the water to see if he could catch any fish,  but alas,  no.  We DID find a hairy crab though!
Final leg of the day saw us follow the most beautiful coastal road.   The view was just so stunning,  each bay was pristine and gorgeous.   We were really impressed by the beauty and untouched simplicity of it all. 
Made camp at the Association campground in Opotiki,  and we are the only people here!   One lone abandoned caravan and us!   A few games of matching the NZ animals later, and time for bed. 

Tolaga, Tokomaru and Te Araroa

PB woke up as Mum was getting ready for a run before 7am and was super keen to come along on his bike. We managed to get out along the waterfront towards the port and town while the sky was still pink.  Lovely!
We left Gisborne and made for Tolaga Bay.  It was a beautiful day,  blue sky and lovely and still.
We walked out on the very long Tolaga Bay wharf (660 metres!) Chatted to some British travellers on the way.
The bay was gorgeous, lots of drift wood and white sand with gentle waves.
Then we made for Tokomaru Bay.  On the way, a mob of sheep was being moved down the road.  We happily sat and watched them rushing by!  Tokamaru Bay was another gorgeous bay, and we sat on the beach enjoying our lunch and the view.
We carried on up the coast,  taking in St Mary's church at Tikitiki and Ruatoria before making camp at Te Araroa.  The church was cool, it had stained glass windows with Maori designs and a monument to Sir Apirana Ngata.
The campsite at Te Araroa had welcoming signs on the office door, saying :  "The shop opens at 3.30pm.  Not 3.27, not 3.28pm, but 3.30pm. "  Friendly! Dumped the caravan and headed out to East Cape lighthouse. On the way we stopped to explore a flat rock area and watched waves rushing through a big crevice.  Found so.e cool crabs, too.  Carried in down the very narrow winding roads,  mostly gravel,  with road works, horses,  cows and cliffs down into the sea.   Saw a funny sight, of sand blowing up to the top of the farm fence and footprints of a cow going right over.
Made it to the lighthouse ready to do the 800 steps up to it just as the sun was going down.   Bit of a puff going up,  but stunning once we got to the top.  Got safely back down and were stunned by the beauty of the moon and its reflection.
Drove back to Te Araroa safely and called in to the RSA for very yummy take aways.  
Home for bed, having seen the sun rise and sunset today, we've definitely made the most of our day. 

Rere Falls and Rock Slide

Only 40 minutes away from Gisborne,  through some very pretty farmland, is Rere Falls.  At this time of year,  the autumn colors of the trees were a delight.  The falls were lovely,  quite a dramatic flat drop off.
Two kilometers down the road is the Rere Rock Slide.  Wow!  How exciting it was!  We got on our wet suit tops and grabbed the boogie board.  DH had a go first, mastering it beautifully and landing nicely. Then he had another go, this time with PB on his back.
The river was so,  so slippery,  it was really hard to get your footing with the water rushing over the rocks and the slimey surface underfoot.
The boys headed off, and this time DH started to go horribly sideways.  There was no easy way to control the slide,  you just had to go with it.  Fortunately,  PB clung to DH like a little monkey,  even turning so that he was heading the right way down the slide even though DH was sideways!
Then it was my turn.   The water was freeeeeeeeezing!  The slippery rocks were so hard to get across,  so I ended up going in closer to the side than I would have liked.   I set off bravely, only to have me and the boogie board turn right around so at I was heading down the slide feet first!   I was hooting and hollering in a rather unladylike fashion,  I must confess,  but made it to the bottom.  The water at the bottom was deep and so it was a fast kick to the edge of the pool,  to haul out onto the grass.
DH came down to confess that he'd stuffed up the videoing of it.   He got the start and the end,  but not me actually doing it.  (Just quietly,  grounds for divorce is my thinking).  But on reflection,  given the unorthodox approach and caterwauling, perhaps it's not a bad thing that there is no lasting evidence.
As we were having morning tea, some tourists arrived to have a look,  but couldn't be convinced to give it a go.
They got their car stuck in the mud, so DH had to once again get out the towing strop and save the day.

When we got to the top on the driveway to the falls,  we saw the sign predicting injury and death if you attempted the slide.  Oh.  Ok.  (It wasn't quite that bad, but certainly would have slowed us down somewhat had we seen it on entry!)

We popped back to the falls to look at some cool toadstools that looked liked a smurf village,  then back to Gisborne.
In the afternoon,  we took the bikes along the water into town and along to a little bridge.   We watched some school boys fishing off the wharf and even saw them catch one!  The walkway was cool,  it had a statue of Young Nick who spotted NZ when traveling with Captain Cook and of Captain Cook himself.  Rode home again for tea. 

Mahia and Morere

It didn't take long for us to make the journey from Wairoa to Mahia, even with  stopping on the way for morning tea,  overlooking the beach.
What a beautiful beach is stunning Mahia!  We had planned to camp there,  but the camping ground had closed down.
After a play on the beach,  we carried on,  this time stopping at Morere Springs.   Gorgeous hot springs set in the bush.   More reasonably priced than Maruia!  $12 each.
About a two minute walk through the bush alongside a clear creek to three pools - warm, hot and freezing cold plunge pool. The setting was just lovely.   In the bush,  covered, beside a bubbling brook.   Just so nice.
After a soak, we carried on to Gisborne,  finding a campsite right on the beach.   Treated once more to the sounds of waves lulling us to sleep.  Lucky travellers!

Wairoa to Lake Waikaremoana

With our packed lunch in the car,  we hit the road and went to explore the stunning Lake Waikaremoana. 
The road was not too bad,  though it did have a few gravel parts and some narrow bits. What was really interesting,  was seeing how high the river had risen in the recent Cyclone Cook weather.   You could see patches where the water had come up, even in a very large gorge, right up to the road.  Huge trees which had been growing by the side of the river were washed in.   It was quite something and must have been pretty scary for locals.
Morning tea was a scenic treat, held on a rocky ledge over looking the lake.  The day was blue and still and just a cracker.
We went to look at the start of the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk.   Looks great,  would definitely be worth returning to do one day. 
Drove around a little bit to explore,  found a lovely little bay called Sandy Bay, then carried on further around.  The road got narrower and narrower and it was gravel and winding, when suddenly, out of nowhere, there is a flash building,  a petrol pump,  a shop and a wee marina!   It was random!   It had signs for the Waikaremoana Camping Ground and the big flash building looked like it might have belonged to Tuhoi.
We popped the kayak in and had a lovely paddle around.   We stalked some trout,  as we could see quite a few splashing about.   And all three of us got to spot one!   It swam right towards the kayak,  then darted away.  It was a brown trout.  So cool!
Stopped at a beach for Mum to show Dad how to skim stones like a boss.   Then headed back to the boat ramp.
Drove back towards Wairoa, stopping to eat said packed lunch at a tiny settlement called Tuai.  There were locals drinking beers by the lake leaning on their ute, they gave us a wave on the way in,  and a smile and wave on the way out.   It was only tiny,  but a gorgeous place for a wee settlement.
Back to Wairoa and PB and DH washed the car,  then got on their bikes for a 10km ride along the river.   Mum had a rest,  a read,  and got some dinner on the go.  A neat day and we've been blessed again with magical weather. 

Hawke's Bay Hospitality

On Wednesday we headed to a friends place and hung out.  Amazing hospitality,  toys and kids to play with for PB and a lovely time spent by all.   My lovely friend just calmly whipped up a dinner for 8 without even breaking a sweat.
Next day,  we set off on a mission to pick up a shed that she had bought on Trade Me.  On the way,  we offered to help wrangle some goats which had broken into the wrong paddock, which was fun!   We offloaded the shed and went over to Clive to visit some dear friends of my  Mum's.
Home again to chill out and then enjoy more of my friends warm hospitality.
Our final day in Napier was spent visiting again, this time a lovely lady in Havelock North,  the mum of a great friend of ours in Auckland. She suggested a cool coffee place for morning tea,  then took us over the road to a great new playground.   Then we headed a wee way out of town to a place called Birdwood.   It was a gift shop / cafe,  with a great space out the back,  with trees,  sculptures, a fountain, geese and goldfish.  It was a really lovely spot.   There was also a tiny lolly shop and we had fun digging around and picking lots of yummy treats!
Dropped our marvellous host back to her home feeling very happy with our lovely morning.
Headed back to the caravan, and were treated to sausage rolls for lunch.
Packed down the caravan and DH managed to manouvre the caravan around to get it out and we headed off.   Sad to say goodbye to our lovely friends and to head away from Napier it's been a lovely adventure.
Wairoa bound, with a VERY tired PB after all the fun he's been having!  Checked out a few freedom camping spots,  but in the end, felt happier in a campground.
I went for a run with a friendly bikie chatting along beside me (PB - once he got his second wind! ).
Enjoyed some amazingly good chicken noodle soup for tea,  compliments of our Bay View hostess with the mostest,  did the dishes (with super dishes man) and off for an early night to bed.  

Nice One, Napier

Monday in Napier was a chilled out affair.  A run along the waterfront, the boys getting haircuts and a look around the shops for Mum. A bit of time at the traffic bike track for the small boy and home for tea.
Tuesday was spent visiting lovely peops in the HB. Starting with some family friends who have known me since I was just a bump in my mum's tummy.  So,  so nice catching up with them.   Always a special visit.
Then caught up with a cool chick I used to work with.  Very fun night talking smack and loads of laughs.
Our visits today has made our time in HB a lot of fun.