Gisborne (More East Cape)

So we headed south through Gisborne, stayed the night at a very forgettable caravan park, decided the next day to try a backpackers at a place called Morere, supposed to have nice thermal springs. Stopped on the way to take this shot of looking back towards Poverty Bay. Nice.

Morere turned out to be lovely - backpackers witha cabin next to a nice stream, and we got in about 4pm, so walked a couple of hundred meters to where the hotsprings are. It;s a small park, with a couple of barbeques, and a couple of swimming pools fed from the warm spring. $5 to get in, and you can have a barby, or wander round, or use the pools, Or you can wander up along a stream amid beautiful fern/forest up to the higher pools. Very few people, lovely, lying in a hot pool looking out at the stream, firs, ferns and so on.

We decided to stay another night, and go on a winery tour (somone else drives). Winery tour was very cool, got to discuss where to go, so included a cider maker and a microbrewery. A really perfect day - except someone had tried to pinch the Kiwi Cruiser while we were away, and had stuffed the ignition (can't pinch a Kingswood - Village Idiot!). At this point things went downhill. Roadside assistance were magic, but could not beat the damage done by idiocy. Towed car to locksmiths. Clothes, bags etc 70km away at Moerere. Hired car. Got stuff. Found a place to sleep. Two days in Gisborne waiting for a sector actuator - there are a lot of worse places to wait for car parts - Gisborne is small but nice, (bookshop on main street is beaut, with an veranda coffe shop upstairs).

Once the part arrived, no problem - headed home to the Volcanic Lakeside Lair. Bit stuffed, especially as we were supposed to be in Opua (600km away) 3 days later, to go sailing. More of that later. Also, why no shots of Morere, or some of the other places we really liked? Explained later....