If you like bush walking or strolling through scenic landscapes, you'll find everything you need to enjoy yourself right here in the Bay of Plenty. There are many great walks in the area for you to choose from. Short and easy walks like the one around the Mount or much more extensive walks for more experienced trampers. Below are a few great options:
Mauao (Mt. Maunganui)
Mauao (as the Maori call Mount Maunganui) is the dominant feature of the Tauranga district and rises 232m above sea level.There is a safe 45 minute walking track for you to enjoy that begins at Pilot Bay, at the harbour side of the Mount. Alternatively, you can take the entry way from the main beach. There are many seating areas to watch the shipscruise by.
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I'Anson Bush Reserve
This land just north of Te Puna was gifted to the QEII National Trust in 1987 by Keith and Takiko I'Anson, with the intention to have the farmland transformed to native bush for the enjoyment of the public. The Waikaraka Stream has been dammed to create Lake Taki and extensive native flora plantings have produced a pleasant spot for picnics and walks.
McLaren Falls Park
This beautiful park borders Lake McLaren, formed behind a dam built for hydro-electricity generation. The landscape includes parkland and native bush. McLaren Falls has a fine botanical collection of trees and a wide range of birdlife, including the North Island brown Kiwi, North Island robin and long-tailed cuckoo. Trout fishing is permitted all year around in the lake and nearby Ruahihi but you will need a license.
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Waikareao Estuary Walk
This is an easy walking track with a two hour return loop and many shorter sections to choose from. The best way to enter is from Fraser Street in Greerton, Tauranga and follow the Waimapu Estuary to Yatton Park. This park contains some of Tauranga's oldest trees and 16 of them are the largest of their kind in the North Island. The park offers picnic areas, a playground and public toilets.
Kauri Point Historic Reserve
A varied walk through this historic reserve shows ancient pa fortifications and lovely examples of pohutukawa forest fringing the shore. The pohutukawa is also called the New Zealand Christmas tree, because it blooms beautifully just before Christmas. The traditional colours for the festive season are red and green, just like the colours of the pohutukawa around that time of the year as it clothes itself with masses of bright red flowers. The rest of the year, the pohutukawa is an evergreen.
Moturiki Island and Mount Drury
Tiny and rugged Moturiki Island offers spectacular geyser-like displays. The island was once the site of an aquarium and is now reverted back to its wild state, with a little help from the community, Environment BOP and the Tauranga District Council. And just across the Marine Parade is Mount Drury, whose caves were used by early Maori for burials which makes it a site of great historical importance to the locals. |
