We make sure to have a porridge each for brekkie before packing up and checking out

On the road for a couple hours before we reach Wairoa for a break and some lunch from Oslers Bakery beneath the Wairoa Old Portland Island Lighthouse

After, we get back on the road and make our way to Lake Waikaremoana – it’s about an hour to get there and another back (on mostly gravel road) but worth the trip to scout it out and visit another time

There was a visitor centre that was quite closed but it was nice to wander around the lake’s edge looking in the clear water

Back in the car, we have a fair way to travel as we have to go back to Wairoa and then follow the coast all the way to Gisborne

Most of the way there, we have a little stop at Wharerata Road Lookout

We arrive into Gisborne and check into Waikanae Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park after topping up the car with fuel

There are only a few places open for dinner on Monday here but we find one and one walk to it via the coastal pedestrian path – there’s a gorgeous sunset (see the featured image)

On this path, we come across the Young Nick Statue and Captain Cook Statue – this is the point of New Zealand where Captain Cook, then Lieutenant Cook, sailed and landed the Endeavour ship in hunt for food and water, back in 1769

The Rivers Restaurant and Bar is a short walk from here

We share a minute steak and a Guinness pie – as neither of us could decide what we fancied – as well as a celebratory drink for completing today’s drive

After, we walk back to the holiday park and get some rest