MOUNT MANGANUI !

Aerial view of the volcano

We're heading for Mount Maunganui, which is a small town in the Bay of Plenty, next to Tauranga.
It is also the name of the extinct volcanic cone which rises above the town (which is now officially known by its Māori name Mauao),which means'caught by the dawn' and which we intend to climb. It is owned by a Maori tribe but open to the public.


Harbour and Mount Manganui

According to Maori legend, this hill was a pononga [slave] to a mountain called Otanewainuku.
It is colloquially known in New Zealand simply as The Mount. And the local hotel next to it is called 'Twin Towers'!!




The town itself is located on top of a sand bar that connects the volcano to the mainland,( for those of you who are Geographers out there, this is a geographical formation known as a tombolo. ) More practically, it means that it has created a safe harbour for the girls to swim and some good surfing waves for Greg to practise his kayak surfing.


Mr G and his kayak

It's other claim to fame is that New Zealand's first artificial reef has been installed at the Mount.
It cost $1.5M and recently the media reported that local surfers were disappointed with the waves produced by the reef. It's made from hollow tile blocks placed underwater at intervals, and built for the purpose of promoting marine life in an area of featureless sea-bottom, but it also produces good surfing waves, usually.


Well, the waves looked big to me!