My favourite port in New Zealand is the harbour for the city of Tauranga. I had never heard of Tauranga before our cruise on "Voyager of the Seas" and it was a pleasant surprise. It is a very pretty town on a peninsula on the Bay of Plenty on the North Island of NZ. The first people to live there were the Maori, who tradition says arrived there in 2 voyaging canoes called "Takitimu" and "Mataatua" in the 12th century. Europeans arrived in the 1830s. Tauranga is the 6th largest city in NZ and is the centre of a region of orchards growing kiwi fruit, avocados and grapes. The big hill at the entry to the port is called Mt Maunganui - it is an extinct volcano. "Voyager of the Seas" is the largest cruise ship to call at the port. Just look at how it towers above the wharf and the tug and pilot boat in the foreground. Love that ship!!!
Labels: boats, cruising, New Zealand
# posted by Bart Bear @ 5:27 pm
