I'm in Mt. Maunganui which the locals thankfully refer to just as "The Mount". (The smaller stepchild of neighboring busy port Tauranga.) It's on the Bay of Plenty and is the sunniest part of New Zealand, so that one day in Auckland was an abberation. It's been gorgeously sunny and about 65 degrees. Warm in the sun and when walking, cold in the shade and when sitting.
I'd highly recommend this place in the high season - there's hiking, boating, surfing, swimming with dolphins, numerous day tours. However, most of that stuff (except for the hiking) doesn't happen in the off season. It's perfect for me though - I needed a week of pure relaxation before the hectic travel months ahead.
My last few days in a nutshell:
- wander Tauranga and have fish and chips at at fish market literally on the pier where they catch the fish. Can't get much fresher than that.
- walk the 7km into town on the beach, then hike up Mt. Maunganui. Whew. I kept telling myself that if I could hike the Inca Trail, I could certainly do this. The difference - I COULDN'T go back on the Inca Trail. Here, I could just turn around go back down and have a diet coke at the local cafe. But I persevered and the view was worth it. I may lose some weight on this vacation yet!
- Reading, reading, reading.
- Window shopping. Can't afford to buy and certainly don't want to start dragging around souveniers yet!
- Relaxing a the Hot Salt Water Baths. So amazing. Like massive hot tubs, but salt water so it's easy to float. Followed by a massage. Very different but enjoyable. At one point she climbed on my back and kneeled on my butt. A little odd, but it actually felt good. And I'm here to try new things, right?
Off to the apartment again to make dinner and lounge some more. And watch really bad New Zealand television. Yikes!
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