Sunshine city

Relief would not begin to describe our emotions on finally reaching Gisborne, renowned for being the first place on the planet to see the sun each day. Several circuits of the city confirmed what we had feared: no accommodation vacant.

Eventually, we found a cheesy tent site that had spilled onto a public domain. Heaps of teens were getting drunk and camping out there in preparation for the new year. With little option left, we took the free camping spot available to us and set up the tent. The ground was so hard that getting the pegs in was a major mission - let alone getting them out again! As for the pisshead teens from Wainuiomata next to us, they were certainly living up to the stereotype but our earplugs drowned out the worst of the noise.

And when we heard the harsh pounding of rain against the tent, for once, we smiled. Mother Nature sent those wussy boys packing into their tents! To thank them for the late night noise, we rewarded them with an early morning wake-up call on New Year's Eve, with help from the Freestylers' "Push Up", blasted at full volume from Tali's car stereo, while Tali did impressions of the dancing girl in the music video to the aforementioned track. Karma is a wonderful thing!

Traipsing around Gissy, we were amazed by the lack of cafes and abundance of parallel import stores and $2 shops. Checking into a riverside B&B operated by a cute couple from Southampton, we headed to Wainui Beach (nothing to do with the Wainuiomata Lower Hutt posse), enjoying a proper hot summer and a rather choppy ocean.

"I love it when you feel like gettin' naaasty!"