Day 8 -Thirsday - Tauranga

Thursday, I awoke to find we'd docked at Tauranga on the Bay of Plenty.  After breakfast we disembarked the ship and caught a shuttle to downtown.

Good thing, too, as it was a distance of at least 4-5 kilometers, or so it seemed.  The round trip cost was $10 per and the helpful bus driver said "all currencies accepted, US preferred."  Yeah, right. I paid in NZ$ which have a favorable exchange rate as compared the US$. Each NZ$ is worth $0.69 in US currency. 

We briefly considered trying to visit Roatura, which is a Maori town and a seismic area with mud pots, a geyser, sulphuric smells and such.  However, the transportation was not good, and time was limited (had to be back aboard by 4:30 for a 5:00 pm departure).  So we decided to do a self-guided walking tour of the smallish town. We walked along the waterfront, and up a hill, past a beautiful rose garden. There were also plantings of large succulents all over the place. 

We passed a Maori canoe, fenced in and under cover. 

Spellings are different here.

Near the top of the Hill we found ourselves at The Elms, a historic Mission complex. It was established by the Rev. A.N. Brown and his wife in the 1830s.  

 The complex once comprised 17 acres but some was sold off and its now down to 3 1/2 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, with separate buildings for a library, dairy and mangle (laundry) and other assorted outbuildings.  We were led on the tour by a delightful Kiwi lady named Jean Salmon, who was dressed in traditions dress and gave us the history of the place. 

  Duff Maxwell was a descendant of Rev. Brown.  He played an instrumental role in preserving The Elms and it's buildings. 

 Duff collected a variety of South Pacific artifacts:

The grounds are beautiful:

The area was the site of a fierce battle between British soldiers and Maori, in which a number from both sides were slaughtered. 

Anyone interested in the history of The Elms will find it at the link below:

A Detailed History of The Elms

After visiting The Elms we visited the nearby Mission graveyard and then strolled down the through town.  At the recommendation of the bus driver, we had some of the best fish and chips I've ever had at Bobby's Fish Shop, right by the harbor.  $12 NZ$ for a huge serving of fries and two large pieces of perfectly cooked fish. A sign warned that their foods were not gluten free nor vegetarian safe "All our cooking is done in 100% beef fat."

We strolled back to the bus stop and watched the local kids having a great time swimming in the warm waters off the pier.  I couldn't help but think that in the States there would have been a prominent sign declaring "NO SWIMMING!!!"  

We  caught the bus back to the with somewhat over two hours before we had to be on board. We were going to take a hike around the perimeter of Mount Mananagui, but on the way there passed a guy who was renting paddle boards, kayaks and small Hobi Cats.  Barbara had never kayaked before so she decided to try her hand at it. After 1/2 hour in the kayak, she opted for a paddle board and proceeded to paddle off in the direction of the moored boats, toward Mount Managui. She did great.  I needed to pull out the binoculars to be able to spot her.  

Meanwhile I had an interesting conversation with the young boat rental guy. I asked about the absence of snakes in NZ. He told me that about 80 million years ago, what was to become New Zealand separated from the land mass that would become Australia (Gondalaland or something) and it slowly drifted away.  Then 60 million years ago occurred the "Great Extinction," in which most life on earth decided to take its leave.  Thereafter, as other life forms arose and evolved there was no way for it to get to New Zealand unless it flew or swam. Mammals came here only when they were introduced. There are, some deer, but the government considers them pests (as do I) and welcomes anyone who wants to hunt them. 

After all that, it was back to the ship. We did toured the ship some, did room service, with Papaya salad and prime rib, then took in a very good show (singing and dancing) in the theatre.  

Next up, Napier. The town was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931, and apparently was then rebuilt in the Art Deco style prevalent at the time.  Looking forward to it.