Mt Maunganui

 We got off the boat in Mt. Maunganui, near Tauranga, a definite beach town. It was on a narrow spit with beaches on both sides with a 5 minute walk between them. The top of the area was an old volcano that you could no longer hike on due to landslides.

As we got off the boat, we saw a trike the Philippinos would be jealous of. Can you image how much stuff and people they could carry on that!

The beach was beautiful. Because it was a cold, cloudy day, we had it practically to ourselves.
There were a few birds who joined us.
The ocean was gorgeous. We went out to a rocky preserve to get a better view of the sea.
It was interesting that on the east side of the spit, it sloped down so people could play and surf on it. The west side, about 7 blocks away, was a deep drop that our cruise ship could come in to dock. We watched people launch their canoes from that side as well. However, a little ways into the harbor, there was a sandbar visible that was cordoned off so boats wouldn't ground on it. It was an interesting place.

We walked past a park on our treks to the beach. It had a gorgeous water feature in it.
And more birds to view










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