Well today i headed on the east as bus - smaller bus with only 20 seats. Our first stop was Napier - art deco capitol of NZ - really nice place then back on the bus we passed through Wairoa and saw Kuri O Paua (young nicks head) which was the 1st thing that captain cook and his crew saw of NZ. The stop for that night was in Gisborne and stayed at the surf chalet - some ppl did some surf lesson but did all that in oz and plus it was freezing!! Next day we had a leisuely lie in and set off towards Rangitukia. We stopped off at Whangara where they filmed whale rider - cool view of the town. When we arrived at rangitukia some did some horse riding but i did a bone carving - took me ages but very pleased with the final product! That night we ate rangi (traditional maori food) and cooked marshmallows over the fire until it decided to piss it down! The next day we all got up early to climb the hill to see the sunrise at 6am! Even though it was q cloudy it was still a really cool sunrise. On the bus we headed straight to east cape - furthest point east in NZ and climbed the 700+ steps to the lighthouse. We ate some lunch in Te Araroa before arriving at Te Kaha at a homestay with a maori family. One of the traditions with the bus is to make up a welcome song for them using a tune of a popular song. The thing is they have a maori welcome song that they sing to every group on arrival and the custom is to sing back. So while the others enjoyed the bus ride chris and i came up with some lyrics to gloria gaynors i will survive (tune chosen by me)! Anyway, it turned out ok and only after 2 rehearsals we performed it sans probleme! Their song was really cool and had maori actions to it. The owner of the place, paul, was so crazy and would call everyone chay every 5 seconds - really nice guy. So we walked along the beach and enjoyed the beautiful view. The food that night was amazing - it was cooked by fran (paul's mum) and we even had apple crumble dessert. After a few beers with the locals and an attempt at a drinking game i headed to bed. The next day i said goodbye to the rest of the group as me, chris, murray and tom decided to stay as have loads of time to kill. Unfortunatly instead of me heading out on the high seas to have a go at some fishing we stayed inside sheltered from the rain doing a puzzle and eating the leftovers of last nights food. We did have about 30mins of no rain in which we managed to walk to the shop and back. On the way did see the strangest thing - a microwave stuck on a pole as a letter box - genius!! That night after double bill of kill bill went to bed. Next day after the rain subsided we walked along the beach and practised the maori song that we were expected to sing with the family to welcome the new bus in (thats something im gonna put on my CV under extra talents - maori singing!!!!) So the bus arrived and talked to the new ppl, had a lovely meal again then they performed their song to the tune of yellow submarine, then we did our song which went well even though we didnt know the actions and just made them up on the way!! After some guitar playing and singing, i watched the basketball final between nz and oz (stupid oz won!) then went to sleep. We left the homestead the next day - i was really sorry to leave as loved the place there and really liked the family - so friendly. We stopped off at Whakatane and some other places on the way. Went to the beach for lunch then i got dropped off in Rotorua as everyone else going to taupo or the south so no point me going back there only to backtrack again! That was my east as trip - really lovely time being in the rural areas and meeting local people and families - one of the highlights of my trip so far! Anyway, thats all for the mo - cant believe ive finally caught up!! love me xxx