Position 37 37.803S  176 10.572E

Visited Rotorua in the morning, the smell of the hydrogen sulphide follows you around this town.  This is Kuirua Park just to the west of central Rotorua a volcanic area that is free.  It has craters, lakes, pools of boiling mud, lots of steam and you can really get up close and personal. 

This from across the road – you can just make out the steam next to the road.

On the lakeside is Ohinemutu a lakeside Maori village. 

Steam rising from the drains and gardens.

Waka waiting for the off.

After lunch we headed for the east coast and Mt Maunganui in an area called the Bay of Plenty.  All along the east coast from this point north is where the NZlers come for their holidays. Mt Maunganui is named after the 232 m hill at the end of the peninsula. 

This is NZ premier surfing city. Surfing is part of the school curriculum in Mt Maunganui.  There are walking trails to the summit and around the base, we did the latter.  Some lovely views out to sea:

These are pohutukawa trees, NZ Christmas tree.  The buds are a lovely creamy green so at first it looks like the trees are in white blossom.  The buds bloom and then the trees are covered in red flowers.  This tree dominates forested areas along the coastline.

Think these are middens.

Seriously deep/tall/amount of shell.

Statue of Tangaroa placed in the entrance of the river to Tauranga, NZs busiest port.  We never visited it but it is supposed to be as close as NZ gets to a Riviera.