Mount Maunganui

From Whakatane we drove to Te Puke and spent part of the afternoon at a kiwi fruit plantation. We took a guided tour of the plantation and then sampled some different kiwi fruit and products made from kiwi fruit (juices, wines and liqueurs). This area in the Bay of Plenty has an ideal climate and suitable soils for growing kiwi fruit. The soils are soft volcanic ash that allow the roots of the vines to go deep in the soil in search of water; there is no irrigation used at all. The plants are also male and female so they must plant a male plant for every four female plants and then use bees to help with the pollination.

We then stayed 2 nights in Mount Maunganui where we booked a camping cabin as I needed to have a conference call on skype one of the days and we had also heard the weather might get bad. It was an excellent decision as on the second day it began to rain, then pour and by the time we checked out it was coming down in buckets! Before the rain started we managed to check out Mount Manunganui or “the Mount” (as it is known by locals) which is at the end of a peninsula of land and has nice walking trails that allow easy access to the 232 m summit. From there you have excellent views of Tauranga Harbour.

We also went to McLaren Falls, a half hour drive out from the Mount, and paddled in kayaks out to see a canyon with glowworms. You had to go in the evening because you can only see the worms when it is dark. The canyon area glowed with green and white little dots of light as the larval stage of the insect tried to attract prey. Bree really enjoyed it but by the time we got out of the kayaks at 10pm, soaking wet and cold, she was very tired and just wanted to be in a warm bed.