Amazing and spectacular.

 November 15th

Gosh every man and his dog turned up at the car park last night. Several motorhomes and camper vans  but by far the most numerous were those converted cars. A chap from the council came round checking for self containment stickers and one girl was challenged because the car she was in was too small for the self contained sticker put in the window. She had to have kitchen facilities, fresh water, as well as waste water containers and where was her loo? Anyway she got away with it because this car park does have flushing loos but a stern telling off and not to do it again...yea right...as if that warning would be heeded! 

Today we were away early. We had a fair way to travel, from Napier to Gisborne with a detour to go and see the Shine Falls. It's the most spectacular waterfall in North Island having a 58-metre drop. Before we left Napier I managed a few photos of the Art Deco properties. Took loads back in 2017 See HERE if you want a look

 

Heading off highway 2 at Tutara there was roughly another 18 km to travel before arriving at the falls and not all was tarmac. The last 7 km was gravel road. The scenery was stunning and everywhere so green after the rains.

Surprisingly we were not the only ones there. Several cars already parked; it's such a remote location as well. There was a loo, one of the long drops, and we only just spied the chimney vents from the car park

 

The track took us over farmland, dirt paths, rocky boulders and patches of mud that someone had kindly put a makeshift bridge across. Okay it was only sturdy branches but did the job nicely. We expected to be gone for about 90 minutes, that's what was stated on the board, but factor in the amazing sight that greeted us and of course we stayed for ages. Got wet through too because the spray soaked almost every part of us including the camera! Tucked it under my T Shirt in the end. These are the photos and a video I quickly took amongst the spray.

 Well over 2 hours later, and it was almost 2 pm when we arrived back at the Toy, so a late lunch was had before setting off for Wairoa. Back along the dirt road, and we came upon a lone injured sheep. It's head was covered in blood, and we assumed barbed wire fencing was the cause. Blasted thing wouldn't let us pass, ran ahead of us for well over a km before finally veering off onto a grassy verge. No farmer around so we couldn't even report it.Hopefully the farmer will realise it's missing and look for it.

There was another attraction we wanted to see, The Mohaka Viaduct the tallest in New Zealand. It is the highest railway viaduct in Australasia, standing 95 m above Hawke's Bay's Mohaka River. Trains used to run from Palmerston North to Gisborne. The line had been freight only from 2001 but washouts in 2012 caused the northern section to be mothballed. We came across it suddenly, travelling along highway 2, and it appeared when we drove around a sharp bend. Blast...nowhere to stop so these photos were taken on the move.

 

Reaching Wairoa first stop was the i site. We browsed through the leaflets and waited for someone to come. But we waited in vain so left the place armed with just the leaflet for free camping sites around Wairoa. The one we liked the look of was by the Wairoa River at a place called Pilot Hill. Not a soul there, we had the place to ourselves. Picked a spot by the tidal river's edge, solar panels hooked up on the rear window, chairs came out, and we basked in the 24 deg heat. 

Another detour for us tomorrow before arriving at Gisborne. More falls to see, well with the amount of rain fallen in the last few days, I'm expecting a good show.

And seen on route

Bank repairs

Plenty of hairpin bends and logging trucks on the highway.

And wildlife