February 26: Switching gears

Gisborne airport is one departure gate wide, but in the one hour they were open this morning, we became short term renters of a sleek, but tiny, Toyota Corolla. Somehow, two bikes and a trailer broke down to fit into the hatchback, and two tired bikers in the front. At 10 am, southward we drive, yes, drive... Wow, it's sooooo easy!

We fight the wind thru Nuhaka and Oraka Beach and out to the Mahia Peninsula, a 12 mile long spit of sandy hills, vacation homes and that far off place feeling, and end up at the Mahia Cafe, perched high on a hillside (in the wind,of course) where two grandmoms serve up an interesting menu of tasty sandwiches, all of which are loaded up with sweet sauce or chutney. What you order and expect to receive is not always what you get. (Joys of travelling tip #1).

Over hill and dale to Wairoa, where we meet Dimitri again,(remember, he's the tireless Greek lifeguard turned long distance cyclist), and after scouring the local Dollar store and failing to find a miniature New Zealand flag for the "mast", we drive on. Sheep in pastures and goats run wild for 30 km til Napier's black sand beaches stop us for goofy beach photos, including the "Ten shell rings for Ralf" and "Endless gravel n' surf".

Again, the i-site (local information centers manned by delightful people who do bookings and know alot) hooks us up with a wonderful B&B, the House of Ra, for the night. David and Cory settle us into a hillside bedroom, with a peek-a-boo view of the harbor outside and every little amenity inside, such as 100% vegetable based Manuka Honey and Harakeke soap. So clean tonite we'll be...

If I remember right, dinner tonite was at one of those restaurants where the portion size was inversely proportional to the price, but we escaped at closing, full, but with a chip out of our wallets.