Feb 4th, 2023 Day 32 of 128

Gisborne, New Zealand

It’s was an early start day for us today. We were up with the sun and getting ready to go and meet the excursion group at 7:45am. Megan and I went on a bike tour today! We grabbed a quick breakfast in the Lido and then headed to the Main stage to meet our tour group and grab the tender off the ship. It was a smooth ride over to the pier and right at the end of pier we met our tour company The Gisborne Cycle Tour Company. We were all fitted with helmets, day glow green vests and our bikes and we were off on our adventure. Gisborne is such a beautiful area. It is the most easternly city in to the world. It is known as the the city “First to see the Sun”. As the sun rises first here before anywhere else in the world. We rode around the beach area and enjoyed what a day in the life is like here. It is Saturday so there are families just out and enjoying life. As was the same at our other New Zealand ports, there has been so much rain this entire summer. But today the sun was shining and you could tell everyone was so happy just to be enjoying a day outside in the beautiful weather. We rode our bikes around the Gisborne area and saw several local monuments, statues, and historical sites. We learned about the rich history of the Maori people who are indigenous to this area. There is over 50% Maori population here, the largest percentage in all of New Zealand. Spending the day here I can see why they would have chosen this area. After our fantastic bike tour we went to a restaurant right by the pier for drink and a snack. I had a delicious apple cider and Megan had a ginger beer. The young boy who waited on us must have been a family member of the owners and couldn’t have been more than 11 or 12 years old. It was weird ordering an alcoholic beverage from such a young man. We got to sit with Peter from the bike company and had a delightful conversation with him. After we returned our bikes, Megan and I walked into town a bit and found a local grocery store. We needed some crackers to go with the cheeses we picked up yesterday and Megan had a Cadbury ice cream bar. At this point of the day the sun was high, the temperature was rising and it was humid. So we decided it was best to head back to the ship. Since we were already dressed appropriately when we got back on the ship Megan suggested we go to the gym. She was excited to be able to try out the equipment without the intimidation of there being any passengers in there. We spent about an hour in there and got a good workout in. Then Megan decided she wanted to go play volleyball. I was pooped at this point so I opted to hit the showers. Before you knew it, it was time to head to the main dining room for dinner. After dinner this evening we had a cocktail party with some of the other guests, officers, and the captain. It was a really nice evening and we stayed and talk until almost 9:00pm. I think that is one of the latest evenings I have been up since we started our cruise. I am exhausted from our long day of fun, sun and fellowship. My heart is full with all the human connections and interactions I had today. I do live a relatively recluse life back at home. Maybe need to make some changes when I get back. But first, rest. Tomorrow is another port day and another adventure awaits us. Enjoy all the photos we took today!