Cruise Ship Destination: Mt. Maunganui

Day 5: Radiance of the Seas arrived in Port Tauranga about 8.15 am. However, the port is actually situated at Mt Maunganui, a suburb of Tauranga. After breakfast we got our water and headed into Mt Maunganui. We picked up a map of the area at the pop-up info centre. We had planned to go across the harbour to Tauranga, but we spent most of the time at Mt Maunganui, so Tauranga will be next time.

Mt Maunganui is a beautiful place and appears to be a holiday town, although we only walked around the bay and the ocean side. The 'old town' of Tauranga is about 4-5kms across a bridge. Peter use to work in Tauranga, so he knows the place well. We walked from the port along The Mall on the calm side, where families were having picnics and swimming. It was a Sunday, so there were many people there. We walked around one side of the base of the Mount, Adams Avenue, to the  main beach side. 

There was a surf carnival going on so we stopped to watch. There was free wifi, a really good, fast, free wifi at different places along Marine Parade. Apparently most of the shops in the area come under a council free wifi area – good for us cruise ship passengers. Peter and Jonnie walked out to the blow hole on Moturiki Island, and I sat in the shade and watched the people walk past. Back on board we spoke with many people who didn't even know there was a blow hole, see it pays to do research before going to new places. There use to be a marine fun park on the island, but Peter said only some ruins remain.

Jonathan was quite taken with the tsunami warning boards and read each one as we passed them. The evacuation point is up Mt Maunganui, 232m above sea level. There is a walking track around the Mount and tracks to the top. Peter walked to the top when he worked here. There is a caravan park at the base of the mount, and also hot pools that are geothermally heated saltwater pools. We spoke with some passengers later who went into the pools and enjoyed it.

We walked alongside Mt Dury along Pacific Avenue to Maunganui Road where there are a lot of cafes, shops and galleries.

History tells us that early Maori settlers came here from Polynesia, and up until early 1900's only a few tiny cottages excited on the peninsula. The establishment of railway work yards lead to many more dwellings and the village of Maunganui was established. Mt Maunganui is a large dome shaped mount made millions of years ago by rhyolite lava. Maunganui is a Maori name 'maunga' meaning mountain and 'nui' meaning big. It was once a town in its own right, and it wasn't until the bridge across the harbour to Tauranga was built in 1988, that it became a suburb of Tauranga.

There are a few different types of vehicles one can take a short tour of Maunganui, from v8trike tours ($15 per person 10-15min ride) to Pepi Toot beach express ($25 each or two for $40 for an hour tour) There was a shuttle bus into Tauranga at a cost of $15 each. An alternative is the Hop On Hop Off bus, but a day is well spent walking around this 'port' end of town.

There are also a number of tours further afield to Rotorua (for Maori culture and thermal tours), and Lord of the Rings sites. These are probably better booked through the ship due to the long distances and time taken. One does not want to miss the ship - although we did talk about how easy it would be to get to Auckland, our next port if one did. 

Mt Maunganui is certainly a diverse part of Tauranga - calm bay, surf beaches, nature walks, thermal pools, boutique shops eateries and galleries - something for everyone.