Today it was mostly cloudy and I did not enjoy the ride much. The route I took was Rotorua – Opotiki – Hicks Bay – Tolaga Bay – Gisborne
Last time I had to bypass the East Cape because I sandwiched in Rotorua in a single day. I must admit the ride through the Waioeka Gorge was much more enjoyable the East Cape, probably because of the ultra dull weather and the never ending coastline.
However, the East Cape had very less traffic and it would have been definitely a lot more enjoyable with blue waters on a sunny day.
The East Cape town is the easternmost point of New Zealand.
Gisborne boasts being the first city in the world to greet the sun each day. Technically, however, this is only true for part of the year. Both Suva, Fiji, and Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, are closer to the International Date Line and therefore would seem more likely candidates for this title. Due to the earth’s tilt on its axis, however, Gisborne does overtake their claim as New Zealand summer days grow longer. In the longest days of summer, though, it again loses the title to the hillier suburbs of Dunedin in the South Island. (Source: Wikipedia). Suddenly, Japan: The Land of the Rising Sun (the way we were taught) makes little sense!
