Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, fried eggplant and toast. Then we were headed to Eastwoodhill Arboretum, a 75km round trip. We were eight since Nancy had homework, but Martel decided to join us.
There was quite a headwind for most of the way out and once out of Gisbourne the road was chip-and-tar, so not the smoothest of surfaces. However, it was basically flat until about 10 km from the arboretum. Then we hit a steepish hill that lasted for about 1 km, with grades ranging up to 10% (that was our group's best guess).
After arriving at the visitor centre, we had lunch. There were very few people at the arboretum, probably because it was overcast and had even drizzled for about an hour. After lunch, some of us decided to do one of the recommended walks around the grounds. There were huge ponderosa lemons, as big round as your hand, and ripe, too! However, we refrained from picking those and contented ourselves with picking small yellow plums instead.
The trip back was a blast! The sun came out, and it was mostly downhill, with a tailwind -- brilliant! On the way back, some stopped for a wine-tasting session.
Back at the hostel, Eric and Robert were the chefs and prepared an amazing meal of barbecued lamb, stir-fried green beans and mashed sweet potatoes (kumare). Sylvie, who was from Kelowna, BC and currently on a year-long world tour, was our guest. Dessert was cantaloupe with strawberries and ice cream! Deliciously refreshing.
We had our first heavy, though, short-lived burst of rain during the evening, and temperatures really cooled off so that we could sleep comfortably.
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| Eastwoodhill Arboretum, cathedral |
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