We woke up at 4:15 am and it was still pouring rain. The sky was full of thick clouds, and we thought we wouldn't see much of any sunrise from the lighthouse, the lodge owner was not going there by his Jeep, and the rainy dark 40 km of gravel did not tempt us at all, so we decided to skip the lighthouse tour. We checked with Bruce, that the bikes were all right, since the rainstorm could have softened the ground under the bikes, and we didn't want to find them lying side by side in the morning. The bikes were just fine. Although there was lots of noise that time in the lodge, Elina didn't even wake up. I had dreamed of that lighthouse tour already when I had planned this route, but somehow I didn't feel bad at all, although we never made it to the lighthouse. Partly I was disappointed already earlier, since I had understood, that the advertised 700 steps were in the lighthouse, and that the lighthouse was really tall, and you could actually climb the stairs inside the tower. But we found out, that the 700 steps were on the rock outside the lighthouse, and the cliff was quite high, but the lighthouse itself only less than 20 meters, and you couldn't get inside it. So anyway it wouldn't have been what I had expected.

Haupara Point

In the morning Bruce and Svetlana wanted some good breakfast, and we had only some toast and tea. The day before, when we arrived, all the shops were closed, so we had no opportunity to buy any food. So we decided after a cup of tea ride to Te Araroa, where we could have something to eat. About one kilometer after hicks Bay, the baby Beemer went into reserve, and we were lucky not to try to the lighthouse at night, because the fuel wouldn't have been enough for return, and five o'clock in the morning it would have been difficult to find any gas. Before Te Araroa we stopped for a lookout at Haupara Point. A sharp rocky bluff with long white beaches in both sides.

In Te Araroa I filled up the bike. Bruce calculated, that he can make it to Gisborne without refuelling. I tried once again to find some chain lube in one gas station - food market, but found nothing. Then I asked the owner, and he gave me a drop of motor oil, so I could lube the chain once again. In the yard table of a cafe, we thought today's ride. Bruce and Svetlana wanted to have at least one longer break somewhere. Because of that and yesterdays dust bath, we decided to leave the dirtroad divide route through the mountains, and stick to the main coastal road. We decided to have the break either in Ruatoria, Tokomaru Bay, or Tolaga Bay; which one looks the best. We wanted to see the Ruatoria, because it's famous of one of its church that is a mixture of Christianity, Maori traditions and rasta culture. Also Bruce told that Ruatoria is always in the headlines because of violence and fighting.

The road on the south-eastern side of the East Cape was full of roadworks. Temporary 30 kph limits were set all the time. Mostly these roadworks were only some dry white sand that was spread over the melted parts of the tarmac. The road was very slippery, and the loose gravel didn't improve things at all. Just before Ruatoria, we came over one hilltop curve. I didn't see over it, so I slowed down a bit. That was a wise thing to do, since the lightweight front end of our Beemer did a nasty slide on the hilltop.

Ruatoria was only a small village with three churches, dentist, and a school bus stable. Maybe it was worth its reputation, since we saw an ambulance and a police car riding in the village. We didn't see any rastaparties or services on the streets, so we just made a U-turn and went ahead.

Tolaga bay wharf and rock

Tokomaru Bay was a beautiful curved sandy beach about two kilometers long, surrounded by steep cliffs. We had read something about walks to the cliffs, but we couldn't find them, or any signs how to find them. So we continued to Tolaga bay, which we considered even more spectacular. There was an old wharf, 660 meters long with rails on its deck. It had been used to load and unload the cargo ships. We walked to the end of the wharf and back. We also found a shelter, where the rails led to. It had been some kind of warehouse, but now there were only some remainings of two cargo cars, and three pulling tractors.

We had bought some picnic lunch from Te Araroa, and we ate it under the shade of one Norfolk Pine looking over the beach to the sea. It was very relaxing moment. After eating we continued to Gisborne, where we took gas, and ate some ice cream. According to the NZ AA map, the distance from Gisborne to Frasertown was 70 km. It looked not so short, and we found that it was around 100 instead of 70 km. The beginning from Gisborne was just long stretches, but after we reached the mountains, the fun begun.

It started to drizzle rain. Bruce and Svetlana put some rain gear on. Soon we came into Frasertown. The riding instructions to the Tipi lodge were from the Wairoa direction. We popped up just in the middle of the village, and didn't know whether to turn right or left. We decided to try left first, and if we don't find the lodge soon, we come back, and continue to the right. We started again, but we didn't make more than 50 meters to the left, when the Tipi lodge was already there. We rode in, and there stood our tepee.

Tepee

The German owner of the place came to show us the tepee. The diameter of the tent was about five-six meters. Except the entrance, and the fireplace, there was a wooden platform 25 cm from the ground accommodating four to six people. We were very happy, and also Bruce and Svetlana seemed to enjoy. Well, no one of us had never slept in a tepee. I told them, that this is part of the exotic in the backpackers' places. You never know in what kind of bed and room you sleep your next night. We went to a store nearby to get some food, and we also bought some sausage to fry on the open fire. Then we went to the local pub, and bought a takeaway sixpack of the local dark Tui-beer.

After we opened the smokeholes of the tepee, and lit the fire inside, the rain started again now bit heavier. The manager came to the tent to set the support ropes so, that the water that comes down the poles of the tepee, won't stop to the rope loops, and start to drip on top of us. He used matches to lift the rope up from the pole surface. The tent was new, and there had not been proper rain, so they hadn't had any change to adjust them earlier.

One Kiwi couple had reserved a twin room in the lodge, but they didn't arrive. So the manager offered, that two of us can go to the twin room, and two of us can go to the dormitory, if the rain gets really heavy. We tried to think who'd go inside, but we were all too polite, so everyone refused to use this advantage. We just checked where the room was in case of we'd get wet. While we were frying the sausages on the open fire inside the tent, the manager brought couple of his other guests to see, what kind of place the tepee was. They were really envying us, when they saw us and the fire. After they went away, we went to sleep. We didn't fall asleep so easily, because of couple German ladies playing guitar, and singing old Negro Spirituals, and some evergreen songs on the lodge porch. Bruce commented, that he is pretty sure that those ladies wherever they go they every night sing the same songs. What a delight... Luckily we didn't stay in any other place with these singers.