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To start off the trip we actually drove through the Manatua Gorge along where I had hiked so that was kind of fun to see. The scenery during the whole trip was beautiful but as we headed further east there was more pasture land and lots of sheep. The grass looked much more dry as well. The other thing that I started to see a lot of was the lumber industry. There were tons of logging trucks on the road and large patches of land that was cleared next to areas of timber that were clearly planted as part of a reforestation project.
I am learning that different areas of New Zealand are just like the different areas of the US, the people and feel of the areas can very greatly. The area around Giborne is call Out East and even in their brochures they talk about how things are different out east. Its the "gizzy" way of doing things. It seems like a surf town that is really laid back and is pretty off the tourist path. The town isn't small, about 33,000 people but so far I have only managed to find one stop light. There are LOTS of beaches though!
I am housesitting in Gisborne for all of February and once again I have some companions!
Meet Pongo and Perdi!
Just kidding! This is Stella and Ollie brother and sister, but still funny that I was able to remember during our first walk both of the names off of 101 Dalmatians. And the fun doesn't end there. The family also has two cats.
Rufus is a Hawaiian Siamese and Sméagol is a hairless cat. So with all four of them I do have quite a housefull!
Another big deal with this housesit is that it comes with access to a car, which I am a little nervous about! But it will be an interesting new experience to drive on the left....
After getting settled in and a few days of rain I decided to start my exploration out on Kaiti Beach watching the sunrise. Gisborne claims they are the first place to see the sunrise each day as there is a mountain about 130k from here that is the highest eastern most piece of land in the world compared to the international date line. That fact actually made Gisborne an extremely popular place for New Years and they have now grown that into a coming of age traditional pilgrimage for young people that includes a bunch of bands playing on the beach here for New Years Eve and thousands of people camping out along it.
My first attempt at watching sunrise was a little flawed....
Problem is that beach actually faces rather south and the sun will not come up over the water, but in fact over the headland to the north. But I now have a better idea of which beach will be the best place to try again for a beach sunrise.
While I was there I was also able to climb Kaiti Hill which gives a good view of the city and Poverty Bay.
The headland in this picture is Young Nick's Head, which is actually where New Zealand was first discovered by the English. On the Kaiti Hill there is a Statute for Capitan Cook and a plaque talking about how this land form was the first piece of New Zealand spotted.
They also have a memorial tree for Princess Diana on this hill.
The hill is situated right above the part of the harbor where large ships load out the logs from nearby forests, it is amazing how many truckloads come in and how big all of the logs are.
While I wasn't able to get the beach sunrise I wanted for this first attempt. I did find a beautiful little church that caught the glow on the back side of the hill.
I am hoping to find work while I am here but I am also looking forward to doing some pretty fun stuff around this beach town... and if I don't get work... I have decided I need a good tan :)
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