The next day (surprise, surprise) the weather was a bit rubbish. It was raining when I got up, but stopped by about 930-10, just in time for going rocksliding! Rere rockslide is about 50km from Gisborne and is basically a long (ish) flat rock that has water running down it and you can slide down it on a boogie board. I went with Ryan, Tyler and Shaun (one of the guys from Dive Tatapouri). I don't know why I went because i spent half of the time we were there standing at the top staring down, watching the guys, too scared to go myself. I was right to be nervous, cos the first time i did it i fell of my board and ended up going down on my bum. The second time I managed to stay on the board, but for some reason turned round and went down backwards, banging my knees all the way down. With a bit of input from Shaun I figured out that the reason was probably that I have a problem with weight distribution, ie I'm bottom heavy, ie I have a big arse! So for my last go I decided to chuck the board and go down on my sufficiently cushioned bottom (like all the kids do apparently!).

When we got back from rocksliding we headed off to our next overnight spot. It was raining again when we got back on the bus, so the drive there was pretty uneventful. We did stop at Tolaga Bay which has the longest wharf in NZ, but didn't get out to walk along it because it was raining. When we got to the place we were staying (called secret spot in the brochure, not sure why!) the weather had picked up. So our group decided to go for a walk up a hill (again!). from the top you could see the coast and it was a beautiful view. We were lead the whole way by the dog that lives at the farm/hostel we were staying at. At first we were a bit worried about him following us, but it turned out that it was trying to lead us!

For dinner we had a traditional hangi meal but the extent of it's traditionality (i may have made that word up) is a bit dubious as it came in a takeaway tin! After that, the rest of the evening was spent in sitting around a campfire, chatting and telling jokes.

The next day we headed back along the coast (and then inland) to Rotorua. The first place we stopped was at Tiki tiki church, which was actually quite interesting because it is a cross between Christian and Maori. Inside all the traditional Christian stuff is detailed with moari carvings. From there we went to the East cape lighthouse and climbed up 760 steps to the top. The view wasn't that great from the top but it was cool to be at the most easterly point of NZ. As the day went on, the weather got better, which made it really nice for driving along the coast, seeing all of the beaches and bays. We stopped at another church, this time Anglican, which was in a beutiful setting, right next to the ocean. After that we headed back into Rotorua. We ended the trip by all having a farewell dinner at the bar in one of the hostels.