Wednesday, March 20 - Driving on the East Coast

We had spent the night in Gisborne, a small port city.  The palm trees give
it a Florida look, although the countryside is more like Oregon.

The port ships mostly logs, although there is also a small fishing industry
in town

The east coast of the North Island has a strong Maori presence.  There are
many marae in the region, which are meeting places for individual
Maori communities.  They are off limits to outsiders unless personally
invited, but you can look at the gates.  

From the lookout at the top of a hill next to the port you can see Young Nick's
Head.  That was where NZ was first seen by James Cook's crew in 1769.  The
sailor who spotted the point was named Nick.   A freighter waits offshore
to be loaded with logs.

This little observatory is the easternmost in the world.  Gisborne lies less
than 2 degrees of longitude from the 180 degree line.  

A couple hours north is the small community of  Tolaga Bay.  On the south
end of the beach is this wharf, which is 660 meters long.  That's 2178 feet.  It was
built in the early 1900's at great expense to provide a convenient way to ship
the sheep and cattle produced in the area.  By 1968 it was closed because the
port at Gisborne was more efficient.  The salt from the sea quickly ate away
at the steel rebar cast inside the concrete, and the wharf began to crumble.
In 2000 locals decided to save the wharf, and after a big campaign to raise funds
restoration was started.  While not yet complete, you can walk on the wharf
and get a view of the surrounding coast from half a mile out.

View from the deck ...

... and below

This modern Maori carving stands at the start
of the wharf

Love the hair styles

The drive north to Tokomaru Bay

With the recent rain we're seeing rainbows

I think this little guy was enjoying the small break in the drought.  But boy
is he gonna get it when he his mom sees him!

Tokomaru Bay was one of the largest communities on the east coast when
it had a large meet freezing business located there.  When it closed the
town fell on tough times.  This is the shell of one of the old plants.  Notice
the nice brick house next door.

The town still has a couple old bank buildings and other businesses that
are now all closed up.  But it still has the wonderful beach setting, and
there are quite a few houses in town.

We freedom camped on the beach

Mutton steaks topped with mushrooms, peppers and onions were
 on the menu, and we just beat an incoming storm.  It's nice to have the van
for shelter.