18
th 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.
A few weeks ago after dropping some passengers back off at the port I was approached by Warwick who worked at the casino on the ship. He saw the smiles and excitement on the faces of the group and asked what we did. I explained to him we mainly customised our tours to suit the groups but largely dealt with the more adventurous type. So, on the 14th Warwick had rounded up 12 staff from the ship who wanted to go rafting and zorbing. first stop was Raftabout and a ride down the Kaituna. Once again I was offered a trip down the river and once again I accepted. I was placed up the front of the raft and Albie was back guiding us after being away for a couple of weeks. We had a pretty strong team and negotiated the river pretty well. Albie set me up again but testing my balancing skills on some of the more gentle rapids. To be honest I had a feeling what he wa
s up to when his first attempt to dislodge me from the raft failed and he returned to the rapid and did it again this time with success. Always up for a challenge I remained perched precariously on the front of the raft for the next rapid which again saw me swimming. It is the type of guide I am, willing to take one for the team. Another great trip down the Kaituna. Next we were off to the Zorb. Once everyone was signed in they headed up the hill for the ride back down. They all seemed to enjoy themselves with at least one trying a couple of times to stay standing up the whole way down. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful. Time for a quick feed before showing them a few of the geothermal areas and then we had to head back as one of them had to be back on the ship by four. They have told me they will be back in April and want me to take them out again. They will be staying for a bit longer so hopefully we can show them more of our lovely country.
