Tauranga

February 3, 2023

This Morning we landed in Tauranga NZ. At first sight Tauranga is very much a commercial port.Large amount of raw logs on shore ready for shipment. Large cranes unloading sea containers. We went on shore around 9AM . When we sailed in this morning we were greeted by a rather large mountain at the entrance to the harbour. This Mountain had a trail system all around it. Our goal for the day was hike around this mountain.As I said around 9 we departed the ship and walked along the beach towards the trail. On our hike along the trail we witnessed the waves crushing in the rocky shores, there we also witnessed a seal frolicking in the waves and having his morning breakfast. At one point on the trail I run up to a bushy area to have a whizz. Not sooner as I was back on the hiking trail, a women came out of the bushes with a grin on her face. Not sure what that meant. We continued on our hike along the trail until we arrived back at the start of our loop around the mountain.This time we were at the opposite side of the peninsula at a beautiful sand beach with large waves rolling in. There were a few dozen surfers trying to master the large waves.Continuing on our hike we ended up on a street with bars, restaurants and surf shops. After getting a few souvenirs we returned back to the ship. Before we sat down for Happy Hour we went on to deck 11 and threw some hoops and kicked the soccer ball around for a while.We felt good about the day being active and the same time doing some site seeing.

” You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown. You travel for the unknown, that reveals you within yourself.”By – Ella Maillart.

Cheers