Bay of Plenty - Mount Maunganui

As shallow as it sounds, I have to admit that one of the main reasons I fit in Bay of Plenty in our itinerary was the name itself. It's one of those names of places that has a nice poetic ring to it. I learned  that it was given by Captain Cook during his exploration in 1769. Thankfully, this coastal region lives up to its name with plenty of things to see - white sandy beaches, stunning harbours, kiwifruits and avocado orchards and even an active marine volcano. But due to our time constraint, arriving from Matamata in the evening and having to leave the next afternoon, we only got to see bits of Taurangua and Mount Maunganui. Here's what you can do in Mount Maunganui if you only had half a day, like we did:

1. Beachcombing



Low tide at the Main Beach (excuse the bad photo)

The Main Beach of Mount Maunganui was not voted the best beach in New Zealand for nothing. It was even voted one of the best beaches in the world. With golden powdery sand and deep blue sea, it's the perfect place to swim, surf or sunbathe. Unfortunately we did neither, the limited time that we had only allowed us to trawl the shore and collect perfect seashells. I was not sure whether we were allowed to but I thought I saw a sign outlining the limits of each type of shells we can collect (on hindsight I think that sign referred to shellfish, not shells).

Another peculiarity of mine (and I have many) is the need to dip my toes in whatever body of water that cross my travelling path. And when the body of water is the Pacific Ocean, this need turned into an all-consumed urge. So I had to go to the edge of the sea.


2. Hike up or around the Mount

Irf looking for seals

Mount Maunganui is an extinct volano and a reserve owned by the Maori. There are a few tracks around and up to the summit but we chose the easiest which was the 3.5km base track. We started our walk at the access near the surf club and a small caravan site. It was a pleasant walk on gravel, shaded by ancient pohutukawa trees, with the sea and rocks on one side and the hill on the other.

It took around 45 minutes to circumnavigate the Mount. Irf was on a constant lookout for seals, which supposedly have taken up residence around the rocky shores. Alas, no sighting was made although the bleating sheep performing acrobatic maneuvers high on the grassy slopes provided a close enough entertainment for Irf.

View from the base track

3. (Window) shopping at Mount Maunganui Main Street

The Mount's shopping street

We were driving around looking for suitable parking and came across (to our surprise) an empty parking spot right on the Main Street. This is the Mount's palm tree-lined shopping strip with a relaxing beach vibe. I never intended to shop but the first shop we happened to see was Honey Meisters, and I was desperately looking for a lip balm for my very dry lips. I entered the shop and immediately wanted to buy every single honey-thing. Only after exercising the highest degree of self-restraint that I managed to walk out with nothing more than a small tub of lip balm.

We also popped over into a souvenir shop and a couple of other shops, before starting to walk over to the Main Beach. Anyway, the souvenir t-shirts that we bought here were cheaper than the ones we found in Rotorua later.


4. Picnic by the beach

Meal with a view

We were ravenous after our walk on the base track around the Mount. There were many restaurants and cafes facing the Main Beach but we were too scruffy for the mostly posh-looking restaurants. With the endless expanse of beach and gorgeous weather, I figured there couldn't be a better time to indulge in the greasy goodness of fish and chips, apparently New Zealand's staple takeaway.

We walked back to Main Street, where I remembered passing a takeaway shop earlier. Mount Fish & Chips is your typical takeaway, not unlike those we used to frequent in London. The menu was a bit different though - there was no individually priced fish and chips set, instead you have to order fish and a separate side of ships. We ended buying 3 fish (hoki and snapper) and 2 sides of chips to be shared between us. On hindsight, one side would be enough as it was a huge portion.

I was chuffed to come across Luca Cafe, just a few doors away from the fish and chips joint. This is a minimalist, all-white cafe with an equally minimalist menu: mainly black or white. Food and the obligatory coffee procured, we drove away from the Main Beach looking for a suitable spot. There were plenty of picnic tables and benches but in true Malaysians style, we chose one partially shaded by a tree. The spot was just a few steps away from the beach and sand dunes, to which Irf got lost in to burn the last reserve of his energy.

I chose to stay under the tree, enjoying our leisurely lunch with a view to kill.

Exploring the sand dunes

   

From Mount Maunganui, it was a 50-minutes drive onward to our next destination: Rainbow Spring
Nature Park in Rotorua. If you had time, New Zealand's kiwifruit capital Te Puke is just 35 minutes
away where you can fit in a kiwifruit orchard and Experience Comvita in your itinerary.

I admit that spending only half a day in Bay of Plenty does not do it any justice but at least I can say that I have been to this beautiful part of New Zealand.