Gisborne - Days 9 and 10

On Wednesday I had a very frustrating experience trying to log into the Government of Canada website to retrieve information about my CPP contributions, a situation that was not helped by intermittent internet access that crashed at all the wrong moments.  I finally gave up and will try again when I am back home.  As the day wore on, I developed a migraine, the first in a long time, which, as much as I would like to blame on the user-unfriendly Service Canada website, was more likely caused by a sudden drastic change in weather conditions, sending the barometer into a free-fall.

Unable to do much else, we decided to explore Kaiti Hill, which is adjacent to the Port of Gisborne.  We parked close to the port and climbed to the top of hill, pausing occassionally for photos (and to catch our breath).  The views over the city, port and beaches were great.

The port of Gisborne handles a lot of log exports, which would explain the constant stream of logging trucks that we saw on the drive down from Hicks Bay earlier in the month.  Gone are the days of lifting logs off the trucks one by one.  We watched a machine unload a truck and its trailer in under a minute - it had a set of giant pincers, with one half going under the logs and the other over the top, allowing it to lift the load all at once - two scoops and the truck and trailer were empty.

After taking in the views from the top, we walked down the other side of the hill and followed the road back around to the port where we had parked, by which time I was ready to crawl into a dark quiet place for a few hours. 

Yesterday we headed back up to Tolaga Bay to do the Cook's Cove Walkway.  The trail takes you from Tolaga Bay, over a tall hill and down into a small cove where Captain James Cook landed in 1769 to replenish his supplies.  What the trail lacked in distance it certainly made up for in height gain, and, according to my Fitbit, I managed to set a new daily record for the number of flights of stairs climbed - 117.

An added attraction in Cook's Cove was the "Hole in the Wall", a large hole through the hill that separates the cove from Tolaga Bay.  We walked through the hole, and by climbing precariously up the sandstone cliff on the other side, could see the Tolaga Bay wharf.

The hole does not look very big as part of a panoramic view, but it is very large compared to Marlene.

After a break for lunch, we made the climb back over the hill and returned to Gisborne, in time for coffee and an Afghan cookie at Verve Cafe on Gladstone Street.

Another tough day!