Author: richwest3

February 18-20, 2013

One definite draw to moving down here were the number of eateries in both towns.  There was food from every ethnicity and a lot of it reasonably priced (by New Zealand standards).  We could probably eat here for a year and not eat at the same place twice!

While we were in the area, we enjoyed authentic Mexican cuisine at the Flying Burrito Brothers, excellent fish and chips at Fresh Fish Market, Devonshire tea (Earl Grey tea served with an incredible scone and Devonshire cream) at the Coffee Club, and some very nice and inexpensive sushi.  And that was only in the three days we were here!  We had a lot more places we wanted to try, and and it made the decision to to relocate pretty easy. –Cyndi

February through May, 2013 – Tauranga, New Zealand

I was that (somewhat old) kid in the candy store at Steve’s Marine. There’s a very good marine store in Opua, called Cater Marine, so I wasn’t all that marine-store deprived, but Steve’s really got my blood pumping. Among all that stuff – tons and tons of boat stuff – there must be a bunch of things I want (and maybe even need.) Ah, there’s nothing better than boat-related retail therapy for this cruiser.

And it’s not just the great stock that makes Steve’s special. Everyone who works there is so friendly and helpful. Thank you Steve’s Marine! See you all soon. -Rich

February 19, 2013

It was time to check out the marina and boatyard.  There are actually two good-size marinas in Tauranga, the Tauranga Bride Marina and the Tauranga Marina, but we were specifically interested in the Tauranga Bridge Marina and its attached boatyard.

The Tauranga Bridge Marina is literally along the bridge between Tauranga and Mount Maunganui, about halfway between the two (and halfway between the two Starbucks).  We first visited the second floor office of the marina and found they were very nice and would have room for us.  We then went to talk to the boatyard.  We had some issues to address on Legacy, some straightforward (painting the bottom) and some that would require some ingenuity to resolve (the mooing cow sounds the rudder makes when steering the boat). Bruce, who runs the yard, understood all our issues and had all right answers.  Plus the price was right.

That evening we were invited to have dinner with our friends Colin and Jeanette (the couple we met in Samoa who told us about Tauranga in the first place) at the Tauranga Sport Fishing Club.  It’s located at the other marina (the Tauranga Marina), which is where they keep their boat.  That, too, is a very nice marina.  We had a delicious dinner and talked about the yard, local boat stores and services, and Tauranga.  It all sounded pretty great!

The next day, we went to check on some of the boat supply stores and were very impressed.  There were lots of good stores, but Rich has written a post about his favorite, coming up next. –Cyndi

February 19, 2013

We had one more walk to take; we wanted to get a better look at the Mount.  There are several walks to choose from, two of which go to the top of the mountain and one that goes around the base.  Not up for a climb, we chose the base.  It’s a 2-mile walk that takes about an hour, and we figured we could handle that.

The walk was amazingly beautiful.  Pohutukawa trees hang over the water, with a view of the occasional sailboat drifting by and islands in the distance.  Large trees shade the path at the base of steep grassy slopes dotted with (what else?) sheep.  The walk went by so fast I thought I must have gotten the distance wrong.  It didn’t even seem like a mile, and time flew by!  This walk was yet another plus towards deciding to bring our boat here.

Here is a gallery of photos from our walk.   As always, click on any picture to enlarge the photos. –Cyndi.

February 19, 2013

Moturiki island lies just off Ocean Beach at Mount Maunganui, and you can walk to it on the land bridge off the main beach.

This little island is bigger than it looks, about 1000 feet long, and there’s a trail that goes to the tip of the island.  It’s a beautiful walk, sometimes tree-covered and shaded, sometimes grassy and brushy, and sometimes along the rocks and water.  There are terrific views of the coastline which stretches as far as you can see to the southeast, and to the Mount to the northwest.  Right off from this island is Motuotau (aka Rabbit) island.–Cyndi