Tauranga Tour

18th Feb 2009
The Volendam was in today and for a change I had four who wanted to have a look around Tauranga instead of heading of to Rotorua. Norman, Sasha, Helen and John had already decided where that they wanted to go to the Katikati Bird Gardens. As always I was going to show them a lot more than that but the bird gardens was a good start. First stop however was Katikati itself to show them the towns murals that tell the history of the area. We found a park and the ladies decided to do a bit of shopping while Norman wanted to try some of the famous kiwi ice cream. That was easier said than done as we couldn't find one shop that sold ice creams. We soon thought it best to track down the ladies and head to the bird gardens. On our arrival we were given a few extra bags of food for the birds and of we went. It wasn't long before the birds cottoned onto us and the doves were actually landing on us wanting to get a bit of the food. We carried on around the gardens followed closely by all its feathered inhabitants. We had a quick lunch and then I took them to Omokoroa to see one of our more beautiful inner harbour peninsulas and then up to the Minden Lookout which treats you to amazing panoramic views of the Bay of Plenty. Time was quickly running out but we had time for one last stop. The Elms Mission House. Offering pretty gardens and a insight into early European history it provided a nice wind down before heading back to the ship.