Absolutely nothing... No wait, that will be tomorrow.
We woke to rain and had a relaxing morning kicking around the bnb. Eventually, we packed the car up and made our way out of Tokomaru Bay. So much potential and so little sun.
The next pier on the list was Tologa Bay (it appears there are no piers we go by that we do not visit). The rain was still persisting but we checked the rain forecast and were hopeful for a break in the weather at some point today (estimated to be about an hour away).
To kill time, we backtracked and popped a visit to Anaura Bay - home of NZ grown bananas? (According to the East Cape guide). Didn't see any bananas. Didn't see much of anything. Stopped at the top of the hill for some sort of shot to show where we've been. Spooked a cow in the process (this one was black with a white face, much less stubborn than the full black cows we'd encountered they days passed).
We made the drive back to Tolaga Bay, spotted a large hawk sitting on a fence post but he spooked before we could get a shot away. Massive bird though. Really cool creatures.
Back at the Bay, we sat and waited and reviewed the rain radar again and again. Waiting... waiting... But it certainly paid off! The rain ceased enough to get out the car and capture "the longest pier in New Zealand". By the time I'd taken my shots from the beach it was raining again and I didn't make the venture to the end of the pier. Can't tick everything off in one trip, right?
Those were the last photos for the day, a drizzly evening with no sunset was apparent, so instead, we went browsing for pendant lights for our new house being built (which will feature a studio room - stay posted for that new development an a few month's time).
Our accommodation for the next two nights is with Pacific Harbour Motor Inn. The room is very spacious and everything is tidy and modern however I can tell that sleep may be made more difficult by the lack of drapes (blinds only) - meaning lots of gaps for light to get in. It also seems the walls aren't very soundproof, can hear the neighbours at times.
For dinner, we checked out a seemingly new place in town, The Charcoal Chicken Co. I was hoping for something a bit on the healthier side, getting sick of fries with everything. Unfortunately, there was not a large range of healthy options (salad featured potato salad - yuk). Got excited when I saw a roast veggie salad but that was only served cold (huh? eww). So, opted for the standard 1/4 chicken and, yup, you guessed it, chips. The chicken was great! Moist and flavourful. Tasty. The chips were shoestring fries - piled high, overflowing the container. Picture a Maccas large fries times umm 3 maybe? I'm not a huge fan of shoestring at the best of times. Ate the chicken and a few fries. The place has potential and I would probably go there again but order something different.