Tauranga, New Zealand

We arrived in the port of Tauranga early in the morning under sunny skies watching on our balcony, another huge cruise ship being guided into port by a tugboat. We looked out and saw the beautiful Mount Maunganui,"Mauao", which we had walked around last time we were here 4 years ago. We were excited to see our friends, Ray and Joan Kucharski from Edmonton. They were meeting us this morning to show us around. Ray and Joan have been coming here to spend some of their winter months away from Alberta's cold.

Ray and Joan took us to the resort town of Mount Maunganui. It is a beautiful town with lovely flowers in the streets, quaint shops and restaurants, and lovely huge homes overlooking the harbor. Many Edmontonians come here for the winter and spend their free time golfing, exploring the countryside and visiting eachother. We were driven to the beautiful Ocean Beach, the nicest beach in NZ. It has to be one of the loveliest beaches I have ever walked on. It was quiet and long and had beautiful shells washed up on the beach, which I collected and pocketed and got through the ship's scrutiny. We walked and walked. There were some spectacular, large homes built overlooking this beach. We then drove to their home to see the house they rent for the winter. It was a lovely, fairly new home with a yard and plants of all sorts. Most of the Edmontonians rent the homes of the local people, who in turn take a vacation elsewhere with the monies received from the rent of their homes. It is a good deal for both parties.

We came back to the ship and had a visit over lunch in our dining room. We showed them around the ship and then left once more for a drive into the countryside. Joan gave a very informative tour of the surrounding area. We saw kiwi plantations surrounded by huge trees pruned to protect the kiwi fruit. The kiwi fruit was introduced here in Tauranga 100 years ago, as Chinese gooseberries. We also visited McLaren Falls which contains one of the best botanical collection of trees in the North Island. This park area also abounds with a large diverse range of birdlife. It was nice to hear and see nature in action. After the falls, we travelled amongst the sheep and cattle farms and drove up into the hills to the lookout point of Waikato which afforded us great views of the countryside below. Everything is so lush and green here. Then we passed some sheep farms and I naturally had to get out of the car and take some shots of the cute animals. We then proceeded to another lookout point called Minden Point where we took photos of our ship in the distance in the Bay of Plenty. Tauranga port is the busiest and most important port in New Zealand. They export kiwi fruit, timber and dairy products here and the city is the gateway to Rotorua, where the geothermal pools are.

Ray and Joan gave us a wonderful overview of the town and surrounding countryside and I was so happy to have all my plant questions answered by Joan who knew more than the local guides. It was a lovely lovely day and a wonderful visit. I sure wouldn't mind spending our winters here.

After we came back to the ship, we got ready for the "Moonshine Mountain Mixer" up in the Palm Court where there was supposed to be a knee-slapping hillbilly hoedown. The place was decorated in the style of the hillbilly country. The dancers and musicians wore bluejeans, big black hats, red underwear, and were barefoot. The music was wonderful with the fiddle just a playing away and the dancers grabbing the guests for a hoedown. We had so much fun, dancing, drinking and clapping and laughing. There was a skit at the end where a hillbilly had to find the gentleman who got his daughter pregnant and marry them off. The lines were hilarious. A production crew in LA, we were told, produced the skit and the dance moves etc. The rabbi and his wife were even all dressed up in hillbilly outfits. Crystal knows how to do things right.

This was a very enjoyable and action packed day for us.