Gizzy and Beyond

The Gisborne Trip!
It started off as a work trip for Nick that I got to tag along on and turned into more of a sightseeing trip for me! Yes, I am pleased to say, I am spoiled!

We started off on Thursday night and made it to Tauranga where I was last weekend. There was a terrible storm (like 160 knots winds) coming over the North Island so we had to make sure the boat was secure. I am happy to report that it was as the seagulls and I were awake all night making sure.

We got an early start (6:30) on Friday and made it as far as Opotiki to be turned around because of a slide. At this point we were about 2 hours away from Gisborne. We had to turn back and take the East Cape route which followed the coast all the way to Gisborne. This added 5 hours on to our already 2 hour trip. We were in a bit of a rush because Nick had an appointment at 11 and it was then 8:30. He rescheduled and we headed on our adventure. The route was beautiful. It had everything from fields upon fields of sheep and cows to pine tree forests to sago palm forests. It was incredible to see such a vast change of landscapes in a 5 hour drive. We didn't stop a lot on the trip because we were pushing to get to Gisborne (aka Gizzy) so there aren't too many pictures of that trip but I got what I could!

We finally made it to our destination after 9 hours on the road. Nick dropped me at the hotel and then the shopping trip began! I have convinced myself that I needed to go shopping because the weather was cold and I only have summer clothing. I did alright. I went back to the hotel and watched some movies while the weather turned to ugly. Rain and wind picked up and I was super satisfied to sit in the room.

Saturday was a super lounge day. We went for a walk down the beach to find good surf but ended up getting sand blasted and cold. We basically toured around Gisborne and hung out.

Sunday was another epic day of driving. We headed North up the coast to Tolaga Bay where there is a huge warf and some good surf spots. Unfortunately there was no surf...just a warf! It was about an hour each way which put our time at 2 hours on the road and back in Gizzy at around 10am. We then went south to Mahia on a surf mission...failed. There was no real effects from the bad storm in Gizzy but further down the coast there were many trees broken across the road, power lines fallen and fields of corn flattened. We made our way to Bay View then headed NW to Lake Taupo. Along the road we got a flat tire. This time I'm pleased to say the driver knew how to change a tire!! It was a beautiful place that reminded me a lot of Kelowna. The lake is as big as Singapore with snowy mountains around it. At the time the NZ Ironman was on and it was quite busy. From Taupo we carried on to Huka Falls and stayed for a bit there. I of course fell in love with them and didn't want to leave. We were fairly tuckered out from driving at this point (3pm) so we made for Auckland as fast as possible. Up through Hamilton and homeward bound! We made it back home around 8:30pm and I slept like a baby! It was an amazing weekend that I wouldn't have been able to experience quite the same way.

I can't help but love this place! I have bought my ticket to fly to Christchurch on Saturday and then I have a bus ticket to travel back up to Auckland from there. I'm excited to see more of this place and find my new favorite spot in the world! Something's happening to me down here though, today I found myself saying "hmm that's a nice Subaru". Seriously...

Tonight we went for a bike ride around the harbor which was so pretty. The Volvo around the world sailing race is arriving here on Thursday so there is a lot of things going on down there.

Much love!