It was a beautiful drive as we headed into an area that was not as touristy.
We stayed at the Maraehako Bay Retreat right on the water.
It was an incredible place to enjoy the ocean and relax a bit. We arrived around 1pm and spent a few hours exploring the place and looking in the tide pools for fun creatures. We found many starfish, sea urchins, crabs, snails and even one abalone (Paua in Maori). There was a lot of sea glass and oyster shells imbedded in the rock along the shore line.
Andrea helped provide for dinner by collecting a Paua off a rock during low tide. She is a great hunter/gatherer!
The evening was spent relaxing around the fire and spending time with our friends from around the world.
On day 23 we left Maraehako Bay to head towards Gisborne, which is the first place in the world to see the sunrise. Along our journey we stopped at a church that was built by the Maori people to commemorate the Maori people who were killed in WWI.
We saw the furthest point East in New Zealand.
Then we went to the longest pier in New Zealand. It was built in 1936 to carry the cargo from the ships, which was mainly supplies to build roads. It was only used for that purpose for 12 years, and is now used more for fishing, swimming and as a tourist attraction.
The weather was a bit dodgie when we arrived in Gisborne.
When we arrived at our backpacker we got settled in and walked over to the beach. We relaxed for a bit and then had a Hangi for dinner. It is a traditional Maori meal that is cooked in a hole dug in the earth, it was really good.
Once dinner was finished we introduced the people that we were traveling with to S'mores. They don't have graham crackers here, so we had to find some Malt Biscuits as a good second. They were a big hit. Then we watched Whale Rider, a great New Zealand movie, and went to bed in order to get up to watch the sunrise.
east cape trip was the best!!must try to make smores...yummy. love yor blog..will keep an eye on ye!! anne s
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