22.12.2016 Whakatane, Opotiki, Gisborne , 204 km, 29 degrees, sunny

Continuing on to Gisborne. In Whakatane, there are dark clouds in the sky, it looks like a thunderstorm front. The route is winding, up and down. There seem to be no tunnels in NZ. We are moving away from the thunderstorm zone. Stopover in Opotiki, first in the library to go online, then at Cafe Two Fish. Enjoying the cappuccino or espresso and eating a very delicious burrito with vegetables (carrots, beetroot, bell pepper, green beans, mushrooms, pumpkin, green asparagus - all crisp fried and wrapped in raw tender spinach). It takes about 2 hours to drive to Gisborne, the route is very winding with many serpentine curves. In Gisborne, it's 29 degrees. First, we visit the visitor information center and then a laundry to clean the accumulated laundry. Self-service store without staff. Opposite is a cafe with a large parking lot. We drink cappuccino and agree with the owner that we can stay overnight in his parking lot. Then we drive to the beach, barbecue our dinner, and are offered 2 corn cobs for our grill by a family that has finished grilling. We enjoy the sunset on a tree trunk on the beach. On the way back to the overnight parking place, we stop at McDonald's, go online and Skype with the Ringel family and Steffi. Flores is doing well.