Nestled on the Bay of Plenty, the port of
Tauranga is watched over by the dramatic Mt. Maunganui, an extinct volcano that
helped shape this spectacular region of white-sand beaches and azure waters.
The Maori arrived here in the 13th century,
followed by the British 600 years later. Today, the city is home to a thriving
cultural scene and stunning vistas of mountains rising from the surrounding
waters. Tauranga is best known as the gateway to the bubbling mud pools and
thermal fields of Rotorua. The local Maori believe this cauldron-like region to
be a gift of fire from the gods. The dramatic phenomenon derives from sulfurous
steam rising from within the earth through deep crevices.
We are docked on the Bay of
Plenty, and just like the rest of New Zealand, it is gorgeous. We went out
first thing on our included tour of Tauranga, which is about 30 minutes away.
However, not as far as Rotorua, which is 90 minutes away.
Tauranga is located on the turquoise waters of
the Bay of Plenty, near the commercial port. It is one of New Zealand’s
fastest-growing cities and is now one of the country’s main centers for
business, international trade, culture, fashion and horticultural science. With
soft-sand beaches, a sparkling harbor and majestic mountains, the area’s
natural beauty has inspired many artists, whose work hangs in local galleries.
On the way over we pass Pohutukawa trees. They
produce bright red flowers, usually around Christmas time and in New Zealand
they call it a Christmas tree. To the Maori when they see it blooming they
believe the seafood comes and they get out their rods and go fishing. They are
not in bloom now.
In Tauranga, they export a lot of lumber to
China, so you can see it stacked to be exported at the port. The other export
that they have is kiwi fruit. They export in air conditioned containers not
quite ripe, and then when it gets to its destination, it will ripen when re-introduced
to the air.
We all went by the original post office, which
was an impressive looking building.
We also passed a replica of a Maori ceremonial Waka,
canoe.
We then stopped at The Historic Village. It was
a collection of original and replica buildings taken from early Tauranga and
set in a unique setting or gorgeous gardens and natural bush surrounds. The
first building we saw was the Gatehouse. It was originally the ticket office
for the village when operating as a museum. Extended in2009. It now the home of
Historic Village Management.
Next was the Blacksmith shop. Built in 1869 by
James Salt and later run by local blacksmith, Charlie Haua. It was moved to the
Historic Village from its original site.
And of course, there is a chapel. The Village
Chapel was rebuilt in 1976 at the Village with special features built by Chief
Ngatai on trial land in Matapihi. The chapel was dedicated on this site in 1976
by ministers and priests off all denominations, to be used as an
interdenominational place of worship.
One of the first houses built in Tauranga in
1844 as the Faulkner House. Originally called Okoroire, it is now set up as a
mini-museum where we found information about the Faulkner family and history of
the Village.
2017 was the 70th anniversary of the
Villages Fire Engine now on display at Classic Flyers The station now provides
a home for Maori cultural carving projects.
The Gilmour Store was built in 1880 and dealt
in general merchandise, hardware and grain and was moved to the Historic Village
in 1974. The far end was converted into a replica of the Bank of New South
Wales.
There is also a 60 seat art deco themed theatre
with state of the art studio and visual equipment in The Village.
There was also a building called the Incubator.
In it there was a vibrant, edgy and empowering art scene where culture was
grown.
Lastly there was the Village Radio station and
studio. It operates from Studios within the building and has been operating
since 1984 playing music from the 1940s to 1990s. The studios are located in
the old Town Board and Library. There is large collection of radios and old broadcasting
equipment from throughout the years, dating from the 1920s. The studio is
vintage with reel to reel tape recorder, three turntables, BBC faders in
console and a RCA ribbon microphone. They also have a Collins High Fidelity Transmitter
that was manufactured by Collins Radio Company in Iowa in 1937. It was one of
four identical transmitters purchased by the NZ Government. Power output is
1kw. It is still used for special occasions. There are over 120,00 tracks, approximately
15,000 records and several 100 CDs. Some of the 78 rpms date from the early
1900s. The library is the third largest in New Zealand. Steve worked in radio
at one time, so he was in his element.
We then proceeded back to the port. Once we go
there we took off on foot to see the area. Right near the port are beautiful
sand beaches and Mount Maunganui. Yes, you can climb to the top of it, but no
we did not. I was tired of climbing mountains.
We walked up to the mountain where we saw
someone hand gliding. We assume he jumped off the mountain.
Also, at the base of the mountains were these
natural baths. We could not take pictures inside unless we paid to go in and
swim, so we took a picture of the sign.
We continued walking down the beach on the
other side of the peninsula. They have a nice wooden walk way that goes on for
miles. Down there we found Mt. Drury Reserve, right there off the beach. It is
not a high mountain, but we did not walk to the top, just part way up.
And that was about it. We walked downtown and
found a postcard for Oliver and a post office to mail it from. We got back on
the ship for a nice lunch and back to the room to put this together.
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