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Thursday 7 April, Rotorua to Gisborne
Before we finally left "Smelly Town" (the smell really wasn't that bad) we spent a bit of time wandering around one of the thermal parks in town. Free for anyone to explore, the steam and bubbling mud just comes up in what would otherwise be an ordinary a city park. There were also pools of the water created for people to sit around and soak their legs, although swimming and drinking the water was not allowed.
Our drive to Gisborne, on the east coast in the Hawkes Bay region, will take some 4 hours of driving, even though it is only a distance of 274km. We head east out of town, driving along the shore of three lakes in the giant caldera (Lakes Rotoiti, Rotoehu & Rotoma). Coffee stops are few and far between, but we finally find a good spot, only to be told that there is no coffee because they have no water! Keep going as Wallace would say. Our route would logically take us south of Whakatane but we include a 10km diversion into town to be sure we get our fix of caffeine. On the way out of town we climb up a hill which provides us with a great view of Whakatane, and out over the ocean to the active volcano of White Island. The hill was also used as the first Pa (Maori fort) in the region.
We stick to State Highway 2 which now tracks southeast across the southern end of the Raukumara Range and we can only make an average speed of 70kph. We arrive in time for a late lunch and then walk around town looking for the regional Wine Centre and other points of interest. We pass Captain Cook who stopped here in October 1769, calling the region "Poverty Bay." We also feel deprived because the wine centre has changed management and is not open. Thankfully the cidery is open so we sample their wares and then move on to the Sunshine Brewery, which happens to be next door to our motel! A low cost meal from Captain Morgan, also located next door, completed the day.
Before we finally left "Smelly Town" (the smell really wasn't that bad) we spent a bit of time wandering around one of the thermal parks in town. Free for anyone to explore, the steam and bubbling mud just comes up in what would otherwise be an ordinary a city park. There were also pools of the water created for people to sit around and soak their legs, although swimming and drinking the water was not allowed.
Our drive to Gisborne, on the east coast in the Hawkes Bay region, will take some 4 hours of driving, even though it is only a distance of 274km. We head east out of town, driving along the shore of three lakes in the giant caldera (Lakes Rotoiti, Rotoehu & Rotoma). Coffee stops are few and far between, but we finally find a good spot, only to be told that there is no coffee because they have no water! Keep going as Wallace would say. Our route would logically take us south of Whakatane but we include a 10km diversion into town to be sure we get our fix of caffeine. On the way out of town we climb up a hill which provides us with a great view of Whakatane, and out over the ocean to the active volcano of White Island. The hill was also used as the first Pa (Maori fort) in the region.
We stick to State Highway 2 which now tracks southeast across the southern end of the Raukumara Range and we can only make an average speed of 70kph. We arrive in time for a late lunch and then walk around town looking for the regional Wine Centre and other points of interest. We pass Captain Cook who stopped here in October 1769, calling the region "Poverty Bay." We also feel deprived because the wine centre has changed management and is not open. Thankfully the cidery is open so we sample their wares and then move on to the Sunshine Brewery, which happens to be next door to our motel! A low cost meal from Captain Morgan, also located next door, completed the day.
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