We didn’t really spend time in Tauranga itself, the city is just a big port. We went straight to Mount Maunganui. It was a nice weather and climbing the hill at the end of peninsula was rather pleasant. We were surrounded mostly by sheep and local joggers. At the top there was a guy paragliding, showing off with cool moves in the air.

After the climb we went for a real fruit ice cream and lunch (yes, in that order, because we’re adults so we can do as we please). For the afternoon we drove to McLaren Falls national park, where we were also about to camp. The park offered some pleasant walks but nothing special. The weather was ok but cloudy, and the McLaren falls weren’t particularly interesting. Apparently they also get some glowworms along one of the walks, but we suspected that they couldn’t surpass those of Ruakuri bushwalk, so we didn’t care to stay awake till dark.

In the morning we started to head back to Auckland. We stopped by Karangahake Gorge, a major gold mining site in the beginning of 20th century. There were a couple of walks where you could appreciate the past by walking through mining and railway tunnels and reading the history and methods of how they used to mine gold.