It was still drizzly when we reached Te Puke which is the Kiwi fruit capital of the world. We arrived during the holiday parade so we were detoured around the town center.

Although it was still cloudy when we reached Mt Maunganui, Bob said, “If it ain’t raining, I ain’t complaining.”

Our campsite is right on the beach with the Mount directly behind us! We ate a quick lunch and headed out for a walk on the beach. Within an hour the sun was shining brightly, so we removed our jackets, opened the camper’s awning and pulled out the folding chairs.

Mt Maunganui is located on the end of a long sandy peninsula. The golden sandy beaches and great waves make it a popular surfer beach. Being a Saturday in summer, it was very busy today. Besides the surfers and the walkers, there was a beach volleyball tournament with over 18 games going on simultaneously.

We have been looking forward to seeing the “Kiwi Christmas trees” – Pohutukawa – and they are in full bloom all around the beach and town.

We decided to do the steep hike to the top of Mt Maunganui. The magnificient views from the top include Tauranga and its harbor on one side and the Bay of Plenty on the other. When we reached the top we saw two guys who decided not to walk back down; they jumped off the cliff with parasails!