Today I walked all over Gisborne and went swimming at their beautiful Olympic pool...and of course watched the freighter in distress.

I also went for dinner at The Oasis Bar and Cafe, a little burger and fish place over in the harbour run by Clifton who also runs a dive shop. Across from his restaurant is a wall with over 6,500 small tiles.

The millenium was big in New Zealand andespecially in Gisborne because this was where the sun would rise first and to commemmorate this big event all of the primary students in the area paid $1 to do a self-portrait and put it on this wall.

They are in alphabetical order according to the kids' first names. Great for the burger business too.

Apparently it rained for the new millenium and the people who travelled here didnt get a very memorable sunrise at all.

Pictured above and below:

• just a sampling of the millenium self-portraits
• a wider view of this long wall
• below is a couple of shots of a poster with information on Mairoi culture and some of the words that are common, in case you wanted a little background on this culture. Clifton said that the percentage of culture in New Zealand is about 60% European or white heritage and 40% Maiori