Blogs from Gisborne, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

We left Rotorua early as breakfast in the hotel was 22 $ which is half our daily budget and therefore was a no no! The drive to Gisborne was slow through the mountains but the road was completely clear of traffic. We stopped at the only cluster of houses on the 150km drive and had a just decent coffee from a ramshackle cafe served by a miserable Maori woman with dirty hands...beggars can't be chosers! t was nice to get back down to the coast, lakes don't enthrall me as the sea does. Gisborne is sweet, built along the river estuary, ther are some very tidy houses and well kept public gardens. We had a great time winetasting ( 10 differentt local wines ) at the Gisborne Wine Centre but realized how hard it is to ... read more

Another fine day. Drove north as far asTolago bay. Hiked up up up to Captain Cook's Cove. an hour each way. We were tripping over sheep and lambs the whole way. Gloria says I have taken a 1000 sheep pictures. I don't think it's that many!!! It has been a nice time here in Gisborne (pop 30,000) but tomorrow we head south to Napier for one night and then on to the big lake Taupo. We will stop on the way as there are some natural hot springs in Morere. Napier is only about 2-3 hours. Some pictures from today (4) Internet is awful L... read more

Well, on Wednesday morning I loaded the bus headed for Gisborne. I first went to Rotorua and had near 3 hour layover. not to worry...I found a cafe and ordered a flat white and an early lunch. I had gone more than a week without my flat white and I was jonesing for one. This is not good...what am I going to go when I get home. I now have a very serious afternoon coffee addiction. The coffee was excellent and the lunch was even better...lamb stew and there was a whole heap of it! Very tasty. I sat, ate, drank and read my book. I ended up there so long that I even induldged in desert - rhubarb crumb cake and a 2nd flat white. I'm seriously loosing it! Then, I headed back to the ... read more

Harry looks into his coffee and listens to the house owner speak. Another man who half-rose to shake my hand observes with a lazy silence. A scruffy mullet falls over his big shoulders. It is as if he walked out of a barber shop mid way through a hair cut. The house owner talks with a soft, feminine voice; he, like everyone else I meet, is concerned about the summer rain. He praises my clear English- I return the compliment. Harry talks in a clipped Kiwi slur, more clipped and slurred when I am out of the conversation: the schooling of his ten year old son, the good health of the house owner, the weight of the baby; “thirteen stone!” she chips in from the living room to raucous laughter. When she enters the kitchen I ... read more

Buenas buenas!!! Como están nuestros seguidores??? Nos extrañaban?? Ahora van a tener para entretenerse…. Nuestros últimos días en Gizzy transcurrieron con mucha tranquilidad, fuimos a la playa, trabajamos poco como toda la temporada, y tuvimos despedida.. La ultima semana nos dedicamos a poner el auto en condiciones para el gran viaje.. lo limpiamos por primera vez desde que lo compramos y lo llevamos a que nuestro amigo y mecánico Mike lo chequee, van a ver fotos del personaje que nos vendió el auto y nos banco todo el verano.. le hicimos la verificación (wof) que se le hace cada 6 meses y la aprobamos!!!! Iiiuuuppiii!!! La gente de la pack, nuestra supervisora (Tania) en realidad nos organizo una fiesta de despedida en su casa, fueron nuestras compañeritas, así que aprovechamos para conocerlas mas, comimos una buenísima ... read more

aca van!!... read more

On February 8th David and I, and 13 other members of the Global Vilage Habitat for Humanity team, were welcomed by the family whose house we were going to build. We were in Gisborne, New Zealand, the most easterly town in NZ (the first to experience the sunrise as the sun crosses the International Date Line). The family (Makere, her husband Tukake and their many children, grandchildren and relatives) greeted us with traditional Maori song and dance, including a war dance by their son which looked ferocious but was more startling than frightening (see the fellow with the spear). We were thrilled by the performance then somewhat surprised when we were asked to sing a song in return. Here we were, a newly formed group of 4 older couples (yes, David and I are in that ... read more

Hola gente linda, seguidores del blog!!! Les contamos que arrancamos la jornada laboral!!! consiste en 12 horas diarias de 6am a 6pm, lo que hacemos es seleccionar zapallos!!! pasan por una cinta, tiramos los feos, el resto los pesamos y los que pesan entre 0,9 y 1,2 van a otra cinta, el resto quedan, el trabajo es paradas, y estamos rodeadas de mujeres maories que le dan duro y parejo, al margen que no se les entiende nada cuando hablan, ademas.... es de lunes a lunes por tres meses y creeemos que vamos a tener 3 francos en los tres meses, con suerte!! Pero no nos pueden asegurar porque depende de la cosecha.. por momentos nos sentimos parte de Tiempos modernos y de a ratos creemos que estamos en el servicio militar.. No se como vamos ... read more