It was time for our second stop in Tauranga, Napier and Wellington, the three ports we visited on the first leg of the cruise. As I said earlier, I hadn’t scheduled any excursions for the second stop so I wasn’t sure exactly what I was going to do with myself. But I figured that something would come up….
We actually docked in Mount Maunganui rather than Tauranga on the 26th, a chilly, dreary day. Bill and Linda, my new friends from Oregon, had decided to take the walking trail around Mount Maunganui and invited me along. I guess I need to explain that both the town and the mountain are named Mount Maunganui. We docked in the town and walked the trail around the mountain. Sorry for the confusion! Anyway, the trail completely circles the mountain, not
too far from the base, and covers approximately three kilometers. There are a couple of fairly steep sections but, for the most part, it’s relatively flat and easy to walk. Shortly after getting off the ship, it started to rain so we ducked under a tree to wait it out. After a few minutes of getting wet, we decided on a strategic change of plans and headed for the 
downtown area. We browsed through some of the shops and picked up a few souvenirs (they had a $2 store with all kinds of crap in it!). Since it was getting pretty close to Halloween, Bill bought a clown mask (more on that later). The rain had just about stopped so we decided to go back to our original plan and headed over to the mountain. The walk (actually more like a stroll) took about two hours and provided some fantastic views of the Bay of Plenty. The mountain sits at the tip of a peninsula so it’s virtually surrounded by water. The scenery was spectacular once again.
After completing the trail, we walked back into town and wandered around for a while. We found a Starbucks
(those things are everywhere) and sat outside drinking our coffee. As it turned out, there was some type of local celebration being held, with local musicians scattered along the downtown sidewalks. Everybody seemed to be having a great time! Then I guess Bill decided to join the fun. He reached into the bag and put on the clown mask, then sat back and waited for the reaction. He didn’t wait long. Even people driving down the street were pointing him out! It might have been embarrassing if it weren’t so funny. After an hour or two, we made our way back to the ship. What had started out as a day with nothing to do turned into one of the best days of the trip.
We actually docked in Mount Maunganui rather than Tauranga on the 26th, a chilly, dreary day. Bill and Linda, my new friends from Oregon, had decided to take the walking trail around Mount Maunganui and invited me along. I guess I need to explain that both the town and the mountain are named Mount Maunganui. We docked in the town and walked the trail around the mountain. Sorry for the confusion! Anyway, the trail completely circles the mountain, not
too far from the base, and covers approximately three kilometers. There are a couple of fairly steep sections but, for the most part, it’s relatively flat and easy to walk. Shortly after getting off the ship, it started to rain so we ducked under a tree to wait it out. After a few minutes of getting wet, we decided on a strategic change of plans and headed for the 
downtown area. We browsed through some of the shops and picked up a few souvenirs (they had a $2 store with all kinds of crap in it!). Since it was getting pretty close to Halloween, Bill bought a clown mask (more on that later). The rain had just about stopped so we decided to go back to our original plan and headed over to the mountain. The walk (actually more like a stroll) took about two hours and provided some fantastic views of the Bay of Plenty. The mountain sits at the tip of a peninsula so it’s virtually surrounded by water. The scenery was spectacular once again.After completing the trail, we walked back into town and wandered around for a while. We found a Starbucks
(those things are everywhere) and sat outside drinking our coffee. As it turned out, there was some type of local celebration being held, with local musicians scattered along the downtown sidewalks. Everybody seemed to be having a great time! Then I guess Bill decided to join the fun. He reached into the bag and put on the clown mask, then sat back and waited for the reaction. He didn’t wait long. Even people driving down the street were pointing him out! It might have been embarrassing if it weren’t so funny. After an hour or two, we made our way back to the ship. What had started out as a day with nothing to do turned into one of the best days of the trip.
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