New Zealand Part 2 - Mount Maunganui

The Mount

    Mount Maunganui is a small coastal city named for it's most distinguishing feature: an extinct volcano, known simply as "The Mount". On one side of the Mount is the deep blue of the Pacific ocean, and on it's other side is the bay and harbor. The main function of said harbor is shipping and exports (lots of lumber), but it is also a main port for cruise ships, of which there seemed to be a new one in and out every day of our trip. So, as  you can imagine, Mount Maunganui is a bit of a tourist town. It is cute and quaint and full of small shoppes and restaurants of every kind  - everything from taquerias to pubs to Indian and Thai food. On the second (or was it third?) day there, we made our first trip down to the Mount so that J's grandpa could watch a footrace. Starting on the beach, the runners would have to race along the coast, up the Mount, and back down to the start/finish line. While J's grandpa grabbed a seat to watch the race, J and I (along with his brother and mum) explored Moturiki, a small island, connected to the beach, where little blue penguins were reportedly nesting among the rocks. Sadly, we couldn't find the penguins, but we did manage to get a great photo at the end of our hike.

    Our second trip out to the Mount was with the goal of climbing to the top of its 760 ft height. In tow was myself, J, and J's dad, brother, grandpa, cousin Geraldine, and cousin James' girlfriend, Sarah. The first part of the trail upward is very pastoral: green grasses and lots of sheep. It also isn't terribly steep, with only a gradual rise as the trail wraps around the Mount.

     Then, about a third of the way up, you reach a huge sprawling tree and a small gate spanning across the path.

 

    Beyond this small gate, is where the going gets tough. In almost record timing, you walk from a grassy field spotted with young trees, to a thick jungle of tree ferns and brush, and then, all of a sudden, you're walking straight up. Okay, perhaps that is a slight exaggeration, but it becomes very steep. The second third of the hike was perhaps the hardest, and hottest, but after a lot of huffing and puffing, we made it up to the very top.
    At the top of every mountain in NZ (apparently) is a marker of some sort to signify you've reached the peak. J informs me that these are called "trigs". I have photographs of said trig, but unfortunately, due to privacy reasons, I have been forbidden to post photos of people (other than J and myself) online, and the only photos I have are group shots :(
    The views from atop the Mount are gorgeous. From above, you can see the entirety of Mount Maunganui with the Pacific Ocean on the left to the Bay (and cruise ship!) on the right. The colors are so beautiful and vibrant - the greens of the brush, the reds of the Pohutukawa trees, and the aquas of the water below. My only complaint? The heat! It was a gorgeous summer day, with the temperatures soaring well into the 80s, and, being in a sub-tropical climate, it was also very humid. As you can probably see in the photos, we were all just a bit hot and tired.

Pohutukawa tree in bloom.

The view from the top! On the left is the Pacific, and on the right is the harbor.

It was quite a trek, but we made it!

   A view of the path down below - on the left is the original photo, on the right is what happens when I find out my camera has a "toy" filter.


 The climb down was almost as difficult as it was up, but at the end of our journey was a delicious treat, courtesy of J's grandpa!

J got orange chocolate chip + orange chocolate chunk with pineapple syrup. I got chocolate :)

    Several mini-trips were taken to visit Mount Maunganui to do a bit of souvenir shopping - very important! J and I bought postcards to send people back home, and I bought gifts for my family (gorgeous tree-fern candles for the gals, chocolates for the guys, pohutukawa lotion for mom, a cool hat and licorice all-sorts for my dad, and a bone carved necklace and mug for my sister). At the end of one such expedition, we went to the hot pools. The hot pools are not natural springs in the ground as I had originally assumed, rather they are heated salt water pools - similar to a jacuzzi. The best part of the hot pools, in my opinion, is the view. From anywhere in the facility, you can kick back in the water and look up at the Mount directly above. You can almost touch it!
    After a nice long soak, we decided to grab some dinner we could snack on at the beach. We ordered food at a fish and chips joint and hiked back towards the beach. Along the way, we came upon Mount Drury (which is more of a tall hill than a mountain), and J's mum insisted that we climb to the top. I can't say I was overly thrilled with the idea of climbing, being supremely hungry, but after trudging up to the top, it proved to be worth the effort. The sun had just begun setting, and it made for yet another beautiful view of the Mount, as well as the ocean beyond. The fish, served in newspaper (as it should be) was greasy, but super fresh and delicious, and was probably one of my favorite meals of the trip.
    Once our bellies were full, we trailed down the other side of Drury towards the beach. Down by the boardwalk, J's mum called grandpa to say that we were ready to go. While we waited for our ride, J and I decided to walk down on the beach by the water. It was low tide, and the beach seemed to stretch on forever into the distance. But, of course, the first thing I noticed was this:

    Shells. EVERYWHERE! For those of you don't know, I LOVE seashells. Ever since I was a little girl, I've spent most of my beach time collecting small shells and pebbles and sea glass. There is nothing I love more than hunting for beach treasure.. I was not prepared for this. I don't think I've every seen so many shells in on place in all my life. And not just shell pieces, whole intact shells, some almost as large as my palm. It was amazing, and I ended up spending the rest of our time on the beach collecting them.
    I was so enthused by the shells, as well as disappointed that I had left my camera at home on this one occasion, that I made up my mind that we needed to come back the next night. It was our last night in NZ, and despite everyone else wanting to relax back at home, I was determined to stay out. We managed to get everyone out again to walk the base of the Mount one last time. The walk around was much simpler than the journey up had been, and surprisingly, the views were just as beautiful, albeit very different.

     The path was completely shaded by pohutakawa and other trees, which also happened to be filled with cormorants!

    After filling my camera with photos of wings and waves, we eventually met up with J's family on the other side.  I practically had to beg J to help me orchestrate my plan to stay out late, but, finally, because J loves me ever so much, he convinced his family to let us stay out just a little bit longer. We told them that we'd meet them at precisely 9pm where we were picked up the night before near the beach, and we grabbed some dinner and were on our way.

    Much like the night before, J and I hiked up Mt. Drury (shown above) to eat our dinner, then walked down to the beach. The view of the sunset by the ocean was absolutely gorgeous, and I took about a hundred photos before the sun disappeared. I also managed to grab up a couple dozen seashells ;)

   We took a small trip out to the little island of Moturiki once more; one last attempt to catch a glimpse of the little blue penguins. While we think we may have seen some potential nests, no penguins were to be found, and so we decided there was only one thing left to do. So, I plucked off my shoes and socks (J was already wearing sandals) and plodded into the water. After all, what's a trip to the beach if you can't dip your feet in the surf? We walked side by side along the edge of the water, taking in the last glints of sunlight and enjoying the fresh air and sand between our toes. It was a great ending to our stay in New Zealand... with our feet in the Pacific, watching the sun set one last time.

   While we began and ended in Mount Maunganui, there are still a few mini-adventures yet to share! I promise, they won't take quite as long to throw together as these past few have been, so keep an eye out ;)