So, today we are In Tauranga, we actually dock in Mount Maunganui, and we have a car reserved so we can drive down the coast a bit to an Oyster Farm for lunch, then up through the hills to the town of Rotorua (which yes, I am calling Rotor Rooter) to see the geothermal baths.
Sail in is gorgeous, a little island with white sandy beaches on one side and the Maunganui mountain on the other. A cute little seaside town of tall apartment/condo buildings and single story houses cobbled together on the shoreline. Very picturesque.
The car rental folks are waiting for us, they shuttle us out to the car and we are on the road a little before 11am. Roads are easy to navigate, and Ed is back in the left lane zone as we zip through completely different landscape. No more rolling hills, now we’re in flat farmland. Corn fields stretch as far as the eye can see on either side of the road – and Kiwi fruit orchards. This is the self-proclaimed Kiwi-growing capital of New Zealand.
It’s really peaceful out here – passing through cute little towns – all looking very US Mid-western-y – (or at least as it once was) you know, those main streets lined with stores and angled or parallel parking, huge trees in the median. Gives a very old-fashioned feel to everything.
Along the highway are all these great road signs too – we’ve noticed them up North as well, but here, they have little birds on them telling you NT 2 txt & drv, or Think about what’s ahead or Merge like a zip (with a picture of a zipper) or That’s good mate, always indicate (for turn signals)! They are so polite, but still pushing their safety message. There area also loads of anti-drunk-driving messages, so there apparently is a problem here – maybe not a problem any longer because of the signs? Take your pick!
The road turns toward the coast, and some areas actually remind us of Route 12, beach road, in the Pea Island reserve on Hatteras. If you look to the left and the seaside, there are big dunes and sea oats, along with some pull outs where you can park and enjoy the beach. Of course on the right side, it’s nothing like Hatteras – but still….
We are heading to Ohope, which is a little holiday beach town past Whakatane. Our goal is to drive along the coast, enjoying the scenery, then lunch at the Ohiwa Oyster Farm on the harbor in Ohope. (The owner of the rental car agency actually knows about this place – he said he goes there every time they visit his brother – or brother-in-law – and the oysters are great! We’re excited!).
As we head further along the coast, closer to Whakatane, we get a glimpse of White Island, an active volcano. And it looks like it’s erupting! There is a huge mushroom cloud above the volcano – which is totally awesome (ok, so the pictures don’t do it justice – but trust us, it was awesome!). Sure looks like an eruption to us!
We arrive in Whakatane, and it’s a cute little motel city! Every building lining the main street is a motel. They weren’t kidding when they said it was a holiday place! After I don’t know how many roundabouts (15-20? These people are seriously into their roundabouts), we finally head up over and through the Ohope scenic reserve, with its grand views out over the coastline….
…and into Ohope and to Owiha…..
This place is great – its nothing more than a shack on the side of the road where they raise their oysters, cook them and sell them!
And at reasonable prices too! It’s almost the cheapest meal we’ve had since we’ve been here. We order 12 oysters (for 10NZ), 2 Shrimp Twisters (because who knows what they are, but they are cheap at .60NZ each) and a pineapple fritter (well, just because!). Everything comes wrapped up in a brown paper bag which we take to a little picnic table overlooking the farm and the water….Awesome!
The oysters are huge and the shrimp twisters end up being little shrimp twisted up in an egg roll wrapper then fried. The pineapple fritter – oh boy! This thing is to die for – just a regular slice of pineapple (probably canned) battered, fried, then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. OMG – that was too good! Food and scenery…
…you can’t go wrong!
Back on the road, we make the circuit to Rotorua and the hot springs. It takes about an hour to get there, through countryside dotted with fields, and now we are seeing more cattle too. right up against the road.
As we get closer to Rotorua, we pass Hell’s Gate, a thermal spa – and immediately begin to smell the sulphur aroma. Wild! Nothing at all until we go past, then its with us for a couple of miles at least. At Rotorua, we stop at the big Geyser and cultural museum, but don’t really feel like paying to go in and see a geyser. So we back track into town to walk around the government gardens. Turns out to be a good decision as there are thermal springs here and we can walk around on this little path and view the springs and the thermal lake (where the birds are swimming, so it must not be too hot our they’d be cooking!). In the photo album below you can see the steam coming up from some of the thermal spring holes.
We walk past the Historical museum (where all the tour buses are collecting their little lemmings to go back to the ship – or on to some other bus destination)…
…then head back to the car and Tauranga. It’s earlier than we planned, but just as well, we can take the car back to the lot and get a ride back into town – and not pay the extra $15NZ for dropping it off at the port!
On the way back, we notice the hedgerows. The streets are lined with them, huge, monstrous hedgerows, heaven knows how old! The sort of box you into the road, making it seem like a huge walled alley. There are flowers too, hydrangeas (we’ve seen them all over) lining the road as well. It’s incredible the plant life here.
Heading back out into the country, we get stopped by crossing cattle…
Heading back out into the country, we get stopped by crossing cattle…
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