Day 2: Gisborne, Captain James Cook, and logs

When: Day 2, Monday, 7/12/15

Where: Gisborne, first city to see the sun, first landing of Captain James Cook

Who: Wingham and Tonto

How: on foot (I'm so out of shape right now!)

Why: Gisborne is one of the few major cities on the North Island I hadn't visited. It proclaims itself as being "First place to see the light" (it's even on the drain covers). It is built around that landing sight of the first pakeha (Europeans) to get here. There was once a large amount of export industry here, but as roads improved it was deemed easier to export on the west cost, transporting everything there via the roads. That apparent exception to this is the timber.

I started the day win brisk walk to, around, up, and over, the large hill that over looks Gisborne. 

At the base of the hill is the port, where today a ridiculous number of logs were being loaded.

By the entrance to the port, however, sits a monument to the first pakeha to land on New Zealand, Captain James Cook.

Above this spot, on the hill, are numerous sites, including old cottage sites, look outs, and the observatory. May favourite spot has to be the statue of "Cpt James Cook" near the top. It's not James. It's a bronze replica of a random marble statue from Italy. The uniform's not British, and the face is nothing like that of the portraits of Jimmy. It was all sponsored by a brewery- they have the statues twin at their main site in Auckland. Yet it's still a good representation, and the view is pretty sweet, so it'll do.

After all the exercise the rain set in, a signal to head off for the museum.

Admission free on Mondays! Good timing

The museum doubles as an art gallery, so there was lots on photography of the local area, art exhibits, Maori and Pakeha history.

Most amazingly they've got half a ship in the museum! 

The Heart of Canada, from Belfast, sank just off the coast. The captain's quarters and the piloting area (don't know the real name, bit with the wheel) were salvaged and rebuild on the side of the museum.

There were also exhibits about the areas surfing history, Maori boat building, and James Cook's initial landing.

From here we went on to the Botanical Garden, with its desert green house, aviary, native plant garden, and assortment of trees. Nice place to sit and take 5 before I came back to the hostel.

All in all a good day to start me off. Now I really need a shower, lots of tea, and some sleep.

Tomorrow morning we're off to Rotorua!

Monument to Cpt Cook

Not Cpt Cook, but close enough

View of the bay, with ship being filled with ex-trees

Tonto taking charge of the Heart of Canada

Looking at the compass

The real Captain James Cook

Random little fence in the Botanical Gardens, looks like bamboo, actually painted steel pipes. Penned Tonto up to keep the ducks safe

The Flying Nun, an ex-convent, now hostel

Where's Wingham? Day 1- and so it begins!

Well, I'm making a start on trying to keep you all updated from day 1. Long may it continue.

For those of you on Facebook you might also experience 6 months of my short ramblings and photos whenever I have wifi

The same goes for anyone following me on Twitter @The_Animagus

Today began with the usual ramshackled stumblings of an overly excited, slightly worried, quite dehydrated, very out of practice, Wandering Wingham. 

Eventually the circus left town, proceeding to get 3 buses, 2 egg and ham sandwiches, and a Moro bar  over the 420km to Gisborne. 2 rambling old women sat behind me all the way, chatting over whatever, eating cheese and weird flavours of crisps. The rain steadily poured down and I went to sleep.

Thankfully I'd had the foresight to book my accommodation 2 days in advance. Seems everyone else also wants to stay in the ex-convent I found, now a budget hostel. Whole place is run down (most budget hostels are) and the feeling of deep religious thought has been washed away by a stream of smelly students.

At the moment it's not a stream, it's a down pour. And they're 95% German Surfers. I didn't get as far as I would have liked with my German course. I've never surfed. Oh well, there's a decent French guy and a young German lad in my dorm, so been hearing their stories. 

Everyone else is either chatting about surfing, watching surfing videos, or staring at screens. 

We have FREE WIFI!!!

Which is great for so many reasons, but it does hamper conversation. Why bother trying to get chatting to a bunch of random people when I'm only here for a couple of nights? Because most of them will be interesting! But I'm tired. Tired from sitting on a bus all day? Fine, I'll try.

Sorry, where was I? Ah, yes.

In the beginning there where the three amigos.

Let me introduce the other two.

Meet Mini-Wingham and our doggie

I've decided to christen Mini-Me as Walter Knitty the Witty

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was on the plane when I first flew out and was on TV the night before I left Bulls. It's a pretty good film about a quiet guy who works for Life magazine ending up on a sudden adventure. Seemed a fitting name, with a little change.

Our wee doggie is called Tonto

I was going to call him Toto, because we're not in Kansas anymore. But I prefer the name Tonto, and it fits so it sticks. Does this make me the Lone Ranger? Maybe.

Tomorrow I'm going to visit some gardens and climb a hill. It's not the most exciting start, but as Gisborne is the "First place to see the sun" (take that Japan), I had to visit.

Then we're off to Rotorua, the Redwood forest and the Buried Village 

Merry Christmas!