"Watch for goats", "Watch for wandering stock", "Hazard Logging Trucks", "Hazard Slips" were some of todays signage on our way to Gisborne. Now I'm not sure if New Zealand has porcupine but I did slow down and swerve around something that had 4 legs and looked spiny crossing the road! After about 2 hours of riding we pulled off the road at a picnic area and decided to chill for a bit have a beer and play a game of canasta. A German fellow was preparing his lunch, he was fascinating to watch! He pulled out a little burner to warm his bread on, broke out the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and started to prepare a fresh salad! We chatted for a bit then decided it was time to hit the road again after I was once again slaughtered in Canasta…that game sucks!…ha ha ha So many vanilla feather duster plants during this stretch. I don't know the correct name of these plants but they are beautiful!

Arriving at our motel earlier than expected we checked in and unloaded. The bikes stripped of their somewhat cumbersome load, and us of our riding gear, we felt vulnerable almost naked as we decided to tour around Gisborne town. We had been told that with tomorrow being a public holiday that many townships would be totally closed down and that petrol may not be available. We filled up the tanks and extra gas containers…now we are all prepared for tomorrow!