Gisborne

So here I am in Gisborne (see map from earlier post). A great little town, easy to walk around, the beach and rivers to hand, some nice little shops, cafes etc. A good bookshop where I picked up some work by NZ authors. Tu, by Patricia Grace http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/grace.htm
is the story of three Maori brothers who enlist in the Maori Battalion in WWII and a great read.



The harbour a busy place with a constant stream of lorries (Twin Peaks style) dropping loads of logs, steaming past a forgotten monument to Captain Cook. This is where he first landed in NZ and 'misunderstandings' lead to the death of a few locals. Not being successful in getting fresh supplies Cook named the area Poverty Bay!


Some boats aren't going anywhere fast:


The museum featured a section of a ship rescued from a wreck. It shut at 4pm so didn't get much time in there!

This monument is a representation of the prow of a waka or ocean going canoe that the Maori arrived on from other Polynesian Islands http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_migration_canoes
The figure at the top is Tangaroa, God of the sea. The one at the bottom is Maui, half man and half god.

The weather here is generally the warmest in NZ, getting up to 30 degrees this week.


The person to spot land on Cook's ship the Endeavour in 1769 was Young Nick the cabin boy (press ganged into service of course).


Modern canoes were being paddled at speed up and down the rivers, mostly out-riggers like the waka of old.

I spent a couple of nights in the YHA just across the river from the town centre.

Next I hired a car and set off inland on Highway 2 then round the East Cape on scenic Highway 35.