Bay of Plenty & East Cape (New Zealand)

...stop was Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty ... yup, in winter there! ... at the same time as everyone in the UK was haveing THAT heat wave!:o)

Tauranga is funnily enough quite often missed out by ALOT of people touring NZ, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT miss it out if you go!! ... Apparently most people skip it and go to Rotorua, which is itself a beautiful place, but I am going to focus on Tauranga as it deserves it!

It's ...
...Also in the BOP(short for Bay of Plenty!:o) are some other really nice citys/towns, a couple are ... Waihi; It's an old mining town which is well worth a visit to see the old relics etc, and with some really nice beaches, even a couple of secluded ones!;o) ... I even worked with a landscape company cutting a track up one of the mountains here, brilliant it was, brilliant!!! ... TePuke; is a small town, but worth a visit to see the famous Kiwi Fruit ... more

Myself and my partner decided to go backpacking around NZ for 12 months on working holiday visa's in July 2003. Our first main stop was Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty ... yup, in winter there! ... at the same time as everyone in the UK was haveing THAT heat wave!:o)

Tauranga is funnily enough quite often missed out by ALOT of people touring NZ, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT miss it out if you go!! ... Apparently most people skip it and go to Rotorua, which is itself a beautiful place, but I am going to focus on Tauranga as it deserves it!

It's not somewhere, where you'll go for a month or so, but if you want somewhere to go for a week or 2 in the summer, then it is amazing.

WOW, was our first impression, this place is beeeeautiful!! ... right on the coast, lots of beaches, fresh air, sunshine, what more could we ask for!?!

We stayed at a local backpackers just outside of the city, but within 10 minutes walking distance. They made us feel welcome and relaxed, the backpackers looked right out onto a mountain called 'Mount Maunganui' about 5km across the sea, and 10km by road. An amazing view, that we had whilst eating breakfast everyday!

As I said before, we went to NZ towards the end of winter, but don't let that stop you going if it's the only time you can. The weather was amazing really, lots of sunny days that weren't really that cold, not once did we have to put a jumper on, all the time we were there we walked around in jeans and t-shirts.

Admittedly it does rain ALOT their too, but thats typical for the WHOLE of NZ, it wouldn't be so green and beautiful if it didn't!! .. and let me tell you, when it rains BOY does it rain, you haven't seen rain in the UK like they get in NZ! ... oh yes, believe it!!:o)

The only downside or bad thing we found was the amount of cars there are in NZ and the bad drivers, for such a small country it appears to have a large amount of cars, maybe because of the distances between towns due to the low population, we're not sure really. The drivers are quite bad at times, it's not to do with the driving test as it is quite extensive as you have to be a learner for atleast 6-12 months before you can apply for your full license, which enables you to drive on your own and at all hours! ... it's just something about kiwi drivers and the fact that alot of the roads are seemingly like the US, large and open, giving the impression that you can go faster than you need too! .. they also seem to think that they are Michael Schumacher or something and will try to over take you at the first instance. But as with most things it is only the minority of people that are like this, but unfortunately it does seem that the minority are on the increase though!

Getting on to Tauranga now and it has quite alot to do really from going on boat trips out to sea, to see dolphins and swim with them (very cheap, compared to the USA!) to sky diving and bungee jumping to tramping around some amazing forests!

The dolphin trips are all year round but you are better off going during the summer months as you are more likely to see/swim with them then. Obviously it is more espensive(if you can call NZ exspensive!) in the summer than other months, but it doesn't really make alot of difference if you've taken GBP over! .. but do shop around as you can get certain things cheaper than the local tourist office is showing etc.

The sky diving and bungee jumping are cheap compared to world standards(well, i think so!), although they do get very booked up during the summer months, as most things do, but it's well worth it!

Everything in Tauranga is quite competively priced, from food;go for self catering as NZ has good food prices, to accommodation; stay at backpackers if you can, their cheap but VERY accommodating and well kitted out(lounge's,kitchens,decent bathrooms etc) and PLEASE do not listen to anyone else's views on backpackers, they are nearly all the time WRONG, especially about the one's in NZ!

There are plenty of historic Maori(native newzealanders) places to visit, but remember that these are sacred places, so respect them or their gods will punish you!:o) ... they are all worth the visit, and alot of them are free too, although they usually have donation boxes near the site.

There are a decent amount of forests/parks to visit in or around Tauranga and they are all very beautiful, there are a couple of nice waterfalls near here too which can be amazingly relaxing places just outside of peak months when you can see no-one for many hours!!

As I said before, we stayed at a backpackers that looked out to 'Mount Maunganui', this is an extinct volcano on the peninsula of the small town which is also called 'Mount Maunganui', it is small yet an amazing thing to see/visit. 'The Mount' as it is nicked named is THE most popular place in Tauranga and is visited by hundreds of people everyday, mostly in the summer months of course, but also by the locals everyday.

You can walk around the base of The Mount, which takes about 30-45minutes, which offers some amazing views of Tauranga Bay/Harbour, and around the otherside to the open sea, very beautiful!! ... or you can walk up to the top of The Mount, which takes anything from 45 to 90 minutes, depending on your fitness level, and believe me even if you are fit(like me) then you will still find it will take a decent effort to get up it as there are some steep parts along the way.

The main track cuts right up the side of The Mount and goes through a small patch of forest, which is really nice as it is VERY peaceful up there, with the sea noise in the background! Once up the top the views are AMAZING, you can see the whole of Tauranga and the surrounding areas, brilliant!

Once you have 'done' The Mount and a few other things in Tauranga, you'll probably want to move on, we didn't, we actually stayed for over months as we got to manage the backpackers we stayed at!!

Also in the BOP(short for Bay of Plenty!:o) are some other really nice citys/towns, a couple are ... Waihi; It's an old mining town which is well worth a visit to see the old relics etc, and with some really nice beaches, even a couple of secluded ones!;o) ... I even worked with a landscape company cutting a track up one of the mountains here, brilliant it was, brilliant!!! ... TePuke; is a small town, but worth a visit to see the famous Kiwi Fruit Country, a kool little place where they'll tell you everything you need to know about their world famous Kiwi Fruit growing capers! TePuke is along with the rest of the BOP the main area for kiwi fruit growing and is a very popular stop for backpackers looking for work during the picking season(April-July), this place also has some neat beaches and native bush areas so is worth a visit if your a nature lover(as is most of NZ!;o)

Wherever you go in the BOP and NZ you will find the people to be amazingly friendly and accommodating, don't be surprised if you get lost somewhere and ask for directions if the local will offer to take you there(if your walking!) and then invite you into their home for a cup of tea! ... the local Maori's are also extremely friendly and willing to share their culture with anyone that is interested, if you get the chance try you hand at Flax weaving, a Maori tradition of using the flax plant's leaves to make everything from bags to dresses and ornaments, a very challenging task to partak in if I do say so myself, just try making something as simply as a snail from 2 flax leaves, not as easy as it sounds!;o)

Overall the BOP or more importantly Tauranga and the few towns I mentioned are more than worth a visit besides the normal tourist stop of Rotorua, of course if your stuck for time then that will judge what you can see and do, but if you have a few extra days then these places are amazing and will give you an experience you probably wouldn't get from other stops in NZ!

 

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