Papamoa Beach - part 1

Once again our destination was but a short drive away just beyond the city of Tauranga midway down the Bay of Plenty. The guidebooks suggested that the 90 minute walk to the summit of Mount Maunganui (an elevation of 250m) was well worth the effort on a clear day and as it was a clear day and as the Mount was between us and our destination and as we thought a decent aerobic hike before lunch was a good idea and as we checked to make sure this ancient Maori site was not a sacred site (refer to Cape Reinga) we decided to do it. Mount Maunganui is an extinct volcano and is at the northern end of a beach that stretches south for miles and miles and miles.

Looking down The Bay of Plenty from a'top Mount Maunganui

The beaches are known internationally by surfers who come from around the world. (more on this later). To get to the Mount we had to drive through Tauranga, a port city and I have to say it was a bit disconcerting to be faced with having to negotiate a multilane freeway after so many days of twisty but low traffic volume roads. Tauranga is not an attractive place, at least from its main road and then the area at the base of Mount Mauganui is a long strip of highrise buildings, bars, restaurants and souvenir shops. Choked with traffic it was not a pretty sight. I was getting close to high tailing it out of there when we finally found a spot to park and so we headed out. We were right. It was a good aerobic work out. The guidebook was right. The panoramic views on this beautiful sunny day were stupendous. Our lunch, washed down with a couple of beers that weighed heavy on the ascent was stupendous and guilt free (see Cape Reinga) although we could tell by the looks of some of the others that had reached the summit that they wished they to had thought to bring nourishment. Anyway, it was a fine way to spend a few hours and I look forward to posting a few of the photos. Now, on to Papamoa Beach and our lodgings.

Our Papamoa Beach Pad

Upon looking at the location via the ipad maps app I was somewhat disconcerted to see that this Top 10 resort was in the middle of what looked like a very urban area. This was also the most expensive place we had booked as it boasted itself as 'absolute beachfront' but somehow I was skeptical. We found it without any difficulty but all my fears of being in the middle of a busy urban area were confirmed. Traffic lights, round abouts, shopping centers, greasy looking take away shops - they were all there. I am happy to report that all of my fears were ill founded. Between the road and the ocean there was several hundreds meters of dunes. When you are down on the beach nothing exists except the ocean on one side and the dunes on the other. Our little cottage sits at the edge of the dunes. When we look to the left we see Mount Mauganui 15k in the distance and beyond it the Coromadel coast and mountains.

First stars over Mt Maunganui

When we look to the right we can see White island (an active volcano) and Cape Runaway marking the southern end of the Bay of Plenty. Looking strait out to sea you see nothing but the horizon for such a wide expanse that it is easy to discern the curvature of the earth. I'm afraid I'm not really doing justice to the majesty of the vistas we enjoy from our little cabin perched on the crest of the dunes. We hear nothing but the crashing of the surf and the squawking of the gulls. The beaches are essentially empty save for the surfers, dog walkers and at sunset the surf casters hoping to return with snapper for dinner. This place is a little piece of paradise and it is here that we will stay until it is time to go home.

A surf-caster tries his luck at sunset with Mt Maunganui in the background