Whakatane!

Eventually arriving in Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty, the only available, overpriced motel suite was snapped up before we could decide if it was worth the extortionate rate. Unable to find anywhere to stay, we drove to the dire dumpsville of Opotiki, the town of nothing in the Bay of Plenty, which ressembled a scene straight out of "Once Were Warriors". We overheard one woman in the local chippy say, "my husband's drunk, my uncle, nephew and brother are drunk, even my daughter's a bit pissed. I hope this will weigh them down." Fun times.

With the enchanting prospect of spending the night sleeping in the car in the sphincter of Eastland, we made an executive and perhaps unwise decision to brave the flooding, tree-falling and land slips and continue in darkness down the long and winding road to Gisborne. And when we say winding, we mean hairpin bends along surface flooded gorge roads with sheer drops into the abyss on one side.

Boy was driving and girl was air con commando and nocturnal navigator. On most roads, you'll see a 65 or 75 bend. Here we were dealing with constant 15 bends with fallen rocks, trees and debris thrown in for good measure. Certainly not an experience we would care to repeat!