If you’re from the northern hemisphere then a Christmas in summer will seem like a strange and unnatural thing to you. It is. Having a Christmas dinner, watching snowy Christmas movies, going for a surf and a few beers on the beach. Weird, but fantastic. I spent mine exploring the beautiful beaches around Gisborne.
Gisborne
We didn’t do much in the city itself apart from drink beer and eat pizza, but there is this awesome lookout point at the top of a long, windy road that gives you great views over the city and beaches. The beaches themselves are gorgeous, especially on a sunny day. Perfect waves for surfing!
Blacks Beach
A short drive north of Gisborne is Blacks Beach, one of my favourites. I loved the contrast of the white waves, grey skies and the black sand littered with driftwood.
My first hot Christmas!
My first Christmas in the southern hemisphere was super weird. We got up early to watch the sunrise, spent the morning at the beach, ate a BBQ for dinner and watched Christmas movies in the evening (which is the strangest thing because there is always snow).
You can view the full album here.
Six Year Gap Year 