Tauranga and Mount Maunganui

This morning we take our time.  It’s so nice not to be rushing.  Having a little kitchenette is perfect as we can make breakfast and have coffee before venturing out.  We leave around 10 a.m. to Tauranga which is about an hour away.

After parking we head to the water for a coffee.  We talk to a couple of people that say the downtown core is changing.  The shops are all moving to malls and vacating the downtown.  There really was nothing for us to see which was a shame.  We then head over the bridge to the beach town of Maunganui.

This is spectacular beach.

On one side the waves are good for surfing….do you see Marlene catching that wave?

Lovely hard packed sand.  Nice for walking.

The Main Street is full of shops and restaurants.  Lovely big houses.  Quite different from Tauranga as this town feels very prosperous.

We decide to drive up to the Coromandel Peninsula which is supposed to be beautiful but again we find roads detoured and closed so we head back to Rotorura.  Very slow going but when we get back we decide to try the restaurant at the hotel which is a Sushi Restaurant.

Small dishes are circulating on a belt in front of you and you just take what you want.

If you want to order from the menu your dish arrives via the Sushi train.  What a novel idea.  So cute!

Dinner was delicious and very reasonable however I was tempted to order more dishes just so the train would come again!  Off to Napier in the morning!