April and May, 2013
I wrote a few blogs about this area after we visited by car, but here’s a quick recap along with some links to those posts.
This area is basically divided into two towns: the beachy surf and resort town of Mount Maunganui and the slightly more subdued lakeside-like town of Tauranga.
Both towns have their charming village areas full of shops, bars, and restaurants. And both towns spread out into areas that are more about the business of everyday living with things like grocery stores, home goods stores, schools, office buildings and suburbs. This area also houses New Zealand’s largest port, two good-size marinas, and a lot of boat-related businesses.
Mount Maunganui post
Tauranga Post
Beyond both of these towns is a whole lot of countryside. The beach stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 miles to the north, down to Whakatane, 45 miles to the south. Just inland are mountain ranges that separate the coastal area from a huge agricultural area on the other side. Auckland is about a 2-hour drive to the northwest, much of it through farmland. This all lies within an area called The Bay of Plenty.
Aside from an endless stretch of beach, the standout feature of this area is the Mount, an extinct volcano that is a fabulous place to hike, walk or jog. There’s also Moturiki Island, connected to the coast by a land bridge, that’s also a great place for a hike. It helps that this area happens to have one of the warmest, sunniest and mildest climates in New Zealand. –Cyndi
