Gisbourne

Hello friends, 

I might be a bit overtired, and perhaps I've received a little hint about when the next blog post is coming, but alongside 10-hour workdays and organizing my trip to the Fiji Islands, there isn't much time left for the blog, and sleep is also quite important. 

Now here’s a brief post about my stay in Gisbourne: In short, I stroked a few rays, went to the sauna, and spent a relaxed day at the campsite before a major storm swept through the region. 

The reason I wanted to go to Gisbourne so badly was the trip to the stingrays here, where small groups go to see the rays and pamper them a bit. With me were the tour guide and a couple in the water, and we really enjoyed it. The tour started 6 years ago when the owners dumped fish remains into the sea after fishing trips - the rays noticed this and have become more and more trusting over time. Rays are quite intelligent and they can feel the electrical impulses of people, allowing them to determine exactly which person is in the water, and they particularly remember the impulses of the tour guides. That’s also the reason why they come to the group, as they know there will be some pampering and a few fish remains. 

We slowly walked from the office into the shallow water, and soon the first stingrays appeared. 

After the first stingrays, a huge short-tailed ray appeared, and it was simply an incredible experience because we could stroke them all and even feed them. Just a dream! So unique, and the rays really enjoyed it too. After about 40 minutes, both we and the rays had enough, so we waded back. 

On the way back, we even saw a rainbow. And after this wonderful experience, the day ended perfectly because I had booked a 1-hour sauna session, where there is a steam infusion every 15 minutes, and then I can jump directly into the sea to cool off. A dream come true - especially since this portable sauna only sits in Gisbourne on certain days and has a really big window at the front, from which sauna visitors can see the sunset. 

A few super relaxing days at the sea before heading further north, as a pretty big storm was approaching New Zealand, and Gisbourne was one of the main points. Since I didn't want rain and a flooded campsite, I left for my next adventure super early (6 AM). 

But more about that in my next post, friends! 
Your Britta