The rain stopped us doing the Tongariro crossing so we are saving that one for another day. We stayed in Rotorua and extra day to sort out a vehicle fine given to us unfairly (we still wait for conformation they aren't charging us $200!..). Onwards and upwards to Whakatane which Im sure would have been a lovely drive - if we could see it. We headed for Manganuku campsite which had a few walks close to it which sounded great..... One of the walks was an instant no as we got to the river crossing point which consisted of a rope over a raging torrent of water! The rain started to ease affording us some sunnier weather over the next few days.
The drive to Gisborne was fairly spectacular - the roads here seem to be one or the other - dead straight or carzily twisting up and down. After a little searching we found the best thing to do in Gisborne - the Rere rockslide - awesome! It was advised to use a bodyboard or tube, all we had was a camping mat, Charlie was game, I was a little more cautious! A 40 degree slide made from smooth rock.
We camped at Mahia Peninsula, lovely with lots of great surf opportunities. We drove around and assessed the potential and then went to the beach that had the only 2 other surfers on it! Great surf, I think Charlie would like to revisit. Next stop Napier and Hastings, a great area where we spent time Wine tasting, buying wine, and checking out the Art Deco Architecture. The earthquake background to this was very interesting - with the town being flattened in 1931 allowing the subsequent planning and cohesive 'art deco' one can now see.
From Napier we drove straight down to Wellington.
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