Tauranga

Morning looking across to the Mount from the lagoon-side

Me on the lagoon boardwalk

freedom camping spot, Tauranga

street art, Tauranga

another mural

We did a 2 hour plus walk around the lagoon at Tauranga.  It was cloudy at first but the sun soon came out.  A big section was on boardwalk through estuaries and was very interesting.  In Tauranga itself we did a walk around the historic places including the Elms, a mission station and grounds.  We also took in the art gallery and checked out some large murals done by a spray can artist.

Tauranga and Mount Maunganui

 

 

Me on the mount

Malcolm below the mount

 

Looking south into Tauranga harbour from the mount

 

Looking across the harbour from Omokoroa

 

 

We have spent a week in this area.  First we went to Omokoroa, a peninsula that juts into the Tauranga Harbour (this is a huge expanse of water mostly behind a long island called Matakana Island).  We did a walk around the headland here which is mostly along a mowed strip part of people's gardens so it was almost like being in a park.

Then we went to Tauranga and Mount Maunganui.  The mount is always to be seen in this area so it was good to climb up it and see the views from up there.  At the base of the mount is a hot pool complex where the water is salt, very buoyant.  A great spot for a soak with the mount behind.

Karangahake Gorge

Malcolm has got the hang of selfies

The Windows Walk - you go over that bridge, up some steps and into a tunnel...

...it's pitch dark but every now and then you come to these 'windows'

Yikes - sideways!  Spot Malcolm on the walkway

Me photographing old gold stuff

Sideways again!

Waihi Beach

We went back to Karangahake Gorge to look at the parts we didn't see on the cycle trail.  The side gorge with the 'windows' walk was amazing - very dramatic.  Inside the mine tunnel it was pitch dark - we put our hands out to feel the sides of the tunnel.  The Talisman café was excellent - great coffee and cake.  Then we moved to Waihi where we parked with the above view.

Cycle Trail day 3

On the trail at Karangahake Gorge

1 km - long tunnel

Old pumphouse at Waihi

Not toys, trucks etc....

 

...down in the open-cast Martha gold mine

 

The final stage of the cycle trail was from Paeroa to Waihi.  This passes through the Karangahake Gorge and past remains of old gold mining days.  At Waihi there is still a huge open cast mine beside the town.  Waihi was interesting to stroll around, galleries and cafes.

Ascent of Mt Te Aroha

Looking down on Te Aroha from 30 mins up the mountain

A view from the top

Malcolm tries a selfie

 

... and another.

One day Malcolm walked up Mount Te Aroha and back down.  He did it in less than the 4 hours it is supposed to take - including eating his lunch up there and going at my speed for the first half hour (ta a viewing platform).  I went up for about another 45 mins from the viewing platform but it was steep, dense bush and I wasn't planning on going right to the top, so turned around and went back.  Malcolm said the view was clearer in reality than the photos show.  He could clearly see Tauranga and the east coast.

Te Aroha

Te Aroha Domain - full of Victorian/Edwardian structures, mostly they were bath-houses

On the track at the Wairere falls

Wairere falls from the viewing platform half way up the track

At the top of the falls

Te Aroha hot pools

We spent a few days at Te Aroha.  One day we did the Wairere Falls track, which is 3 hours return and is quite steep.  Great views across the Hauraki Plains from the top.

 

Hauraki Cycle Trail - day 2

We parked opposite the old pub in Paeroa

Malcolm near Te Aroha

Me with old station and Mt Te Aroha in background

Edwardian and Victorian architecture in the domain, Te Aroha

The second day we took the car to Te Aroha and cycled back to Paeroa.  This was a shorter leg, 22kms.  Again it was through farmland but quite pretty if not dramatic.  Then we took the bus to Te Aroha and spent some time during the afternoon exploring the domain area, which had a gala day going on with music, stalls and other entertainment.

Hauraki Cycle Trail - day 1

The bus parked at Thames where we finished this leg of the ride

Thames lions club sculpture

View from the trail

Me on the trail

Malcolm on a suspension bridge on the trail

We left the bus in Thames and took the car (plus bikes) to Paeroa.  We cycled from Paeroa back to Thames through countryside with the Coromandel ranges on one side and the Hauraki plains on the other.  It is 33 kms.  We had one stop at the 'Convenient Cow' - (don't you love the sophisticated café name?) for big ice-creams.

Seabird Coast

Dawn, parked beside the Firth of Thames, near Miranda

Our bus in a row of motorhomes at dawn

Seabird

That dot is me swimming one afternoon

Café at the wharf, Thames

 

Our bus

 

Miranda Hot Pools

 

 

We spent a while at a freedom camping spot near Miranda.  I went to the Hot Pools one afternoon but Malcolm didn't - that's why neither of us is in the photo.  Rather different to our last hot pool experience at Ngawha!  Thames is a lovely little town to look around and it has lots of cafes - hard to choose but The Wharf has the best views.

 

 

 

Opua cycle trail

Kawakawa River, near Opua

Taumarere Bridge...

...and station

 

Me by a tunnel...

...and on the bridge

 

Today we cycled part of the Twin Coast Cycle Trail between Opua and Taumarere. It just stops at the old railway station and if you want to continue to Kawakawa you have to hop on the steam train that runs weekends - or go on the road (narrow, busy, not a good idea). The railway is talking about getting the rails going again to Opua - if that happens there will be no cycle trail. It's like the cycle trail started at one end and the steam railway at the other - both thinking they'd go all the way! Anyway it was a nice 14km cycle and we had coffee at the marina café. We did the other opened part of the twin coast cycle trail a couple of years ago with Elaine.  The other parts are supposed to be finished soon.