Castlepoint/Napier/Gisborne

Motivated and excited, we set off to the east coast.

First stop: Castlepoint - a beautiful lagoon with a lighthouse built on rocks that are covered in fossils. A short walk leads up to the lighthouse, which offers a fabulous view of the ocean and the lagoon. Because we still had a long distance to Cape Reinga and back to Auckland, we decided to leave this beautiful place and drove along the coast to Napier, and the next day another 214 KM to Gisborne. We explored Gisborne and its lookout on foot and enjoyed a beer at the 'Sunshine' microbrewery.

Near Gisborne, there is an unofficial waterslide made of polished rocks. You can slide down 60m into a pool using buggy boards or similar flotation devices. Since we didn't feel like swimming in the morning, we politely declined offers to slide and enjoyed watching the spectacle from dry land.