School Trip

February last year I was involved in an educational trip with Gisborne Intermediate. Now that I have got my head around blogger I thought I would fill you on on last years trip as they have contacted me again this year for more of the same, and man do I hope it's more of the same. For those of you who don't know, Gisborne is a city of about 40,000 on the East Coast of New Zealand. (My home town) Anyway Brendan Hart (Harty), one of the teachers contacted me and asked if I was interested, and of course, I was. There were two groups of around 60 children each. One group was going to Otoi and the other group to Mahia. First I was going to Otoi which can be best described as a very small rural community. Amazing landscape with steep gullies, beautiful lakes and rivers. On our arrival I helped out with the setting up of camp and general supervision of the children aged from 11-13. The children were housed in tents while the adults were in the hall. After rubber tubing down the nearby rivers rapids and a few games in the paddocks it was time for dinner, followed by some card games. Soon it was bed time but Harty and I stayed up for a while chatting. When I decided to hit the sack one of the parents, who I will not name was snoring away and the more I tried to ignore it the worse so I packed up the sleeping bag and curled up in the back seat of my van. The next day our activities consisted of kayaking, biking and another ride down the river on tyre tubes. Not far from camp was a small, safe lake on private farm land that we had permission to use. It was ideal as the kids could be supervised form the shore if need be although saying that if I was not in the water with them a couple of parents and teachers were. Harty took another group riding over the country roads and when he returned they swapped around. It was a great day with beautiful weather. The next morning I packed up and headed to Mahia. (approx 1 hour drive) Mahia is another fantastic spot. Situated on a peninsular it is spoilt with beaches ranging from golden sand to rocky coast, clean waters and some of the best surf, fishing and diving in the country. The second group was staying at the motor camp and on my arrival we planned the days activities and off we went. Again I was in control of the kayaking with the help of one of the parents while a couple of the teachers, including the principal who had come to see how things were going went on a bike ride.
At the time Mahia was the home of a dolphin called Moko. He/she would turn up out of the blue and had in the past played with swimmers. We were onto our second group when I heard a whole lot of excited kids and I turned to notice Moko swimming amongst them as did all the kids in the kayaks. They all headed into shore while I decided to kayak over to the group. Moko soon noticed me and swam over and began nudging the back of my kayak. I took this as meaning he wanted to have a race so off I went closely followed by Moko. I managed about 30 meters before I needed a rest but Moko got in behind and started nudging me again so off I went heading back towards the group in the water. Someone threw a ball into the water and Moko took it and didn't return it. Grant to the rescue, or so I thought. Moko would bring the ball over to me but just as I was within reaching range he would take it away again. I decided to throw him my water pump which was a great idea to get the ball back but now I couldn't get my pump. Eventually Moko came right up to the kayak with the pump on his nose and gave it back. Let me pat him on the nose for a while before he heard the spalsh of the ball again so we had to do it all over again. Moko was like a pet dog in the water, totally superior in every way. It is one of those experience you just can not describe or explain. Even writing this almost 12 months I still get goose bumps. Was I happy to get asked to go again this year, HELL YES. Nature being nature though Moko may not be there this time but hey, I love what I do and Moko was just icing on the cake.

Cruise Ship Day

7th of January and the Sun Princess was coming to Tauranga. It was a beautiful sunny day and the passengers were soon piling onto the port and making their way to the I-Site up the road. Peter, Leanne and their young children Angus and Simone from Australia were keen to go over to Rotorua and go on the Luge and Zorb. We piled into the van and off we went. The trip from Tauranga to Rotorua takes approx 1 hour and once there we decided to go up the gondala to the luge. It was pretty busy with a que snaking from the checkout to the entrance. I dropped them off and arranged to come and pick them up in a couple of hours. I picked them up around 2.30pm and they all had huge smiles on their faces with Angus claiming the king of the mountain title although there was plenty of debate. Next stop the Zorb. The kids decided on the wet option with Peter and Leanne going for the dry option. They decided to wach a few people do it first and Peter changed his mind and went for the wet option but he couldn't convince Leanne to do the same. I was put n charge of the camera so I hope the photos came out alright. After the Zorb we went and got a small bite to eat and it was time to head back to Tauranga. Another group very satisfied and who appreciated the small groups we specialise in. Next ship I may have to stay at the I-Site a little bit linger as there were a couple of other groups interested in our Adventure Options however I had already left. The van only seats eight passengers though so if you are coming to Tauranga get to the I-Site fast or email at enquiries@adventurebop.co.nz

Plummers Point Paradise

January the 3rd and another group interested in Plummers Point kayak adventure. Julie had contacted me by email and subsequently phone and we were looking at the Mount Maunganui Marvel however the tides were not suitable and we decided on Plummers Point. The weather forecast was not looking good the day before so it was all on standby. The morning of the 3rd and the day was looking alright, however there was a large low coming up from the south but thanks to the met service I called Julie and said I thought we wold be alright. She was keen and her niece and nephew who were over on holiday from England were heading back on Monday so she thought it would be good to give them a day off before flying back. We arranged to met at Plummers Point at approx 11.30 after her husband Jes had finished work. I got there a bit earlier and set everything up to save time hoping to beat the rain heading our way. Julie, Jes, their son Daniel and Emma and Mike (niece/nephew) arrived soon after and off we set. We had all packed lunch and our plan was to head over to Motuhoe Island, explore the coastline, have a meal and then head back. Half way to Motuhoe Emma had spotted a bird in the water and was unsure what it was. After some confusion on distance and direction of this creature I spotted a blue penguin bobbing up in down in the water. Daniel debated the issue somewhat as he didn't think it was cold enough for penguins. I think I convinced him. The tide was high and it gave us an opportunity to get up close to Motuhoe shoreline and negotiate a few of the overhanging Pohutakawa Trees and also get nice and close to the white sandstone cliffs. A shout went up as a kahawai jumped out of the water nearby as we headed to our picnic spot. We found a nice little beach to have lunch and I explained a little about the local history of the area. Looking south there was the ominous sign of the predicted rain hanging over the Kaimai ranges so we quickly packed up a headed back. Daniel was feeling the pressure and his dad was having to do all the work. (you can reply to this Daniel and give your version of events) I decided to give them a hand and gave them a bit of tow. Three quarters of the way back and we got hit by heavy rain but the good new was it was gone as quick as it came and the kayak up the inlet was fine and calm and we were able to get packed up while staying relatively dry.

Rotorua Adventure

It was January the 2nd and I was off to Rotorua to pick up Louise and Daniel who were a couple of Auzys on their honey . They had received a voucher from Red Balloon for our Rotorua Adventure which includes a choice of a full days kayaking or mountain biking or a combination of both. They chose the combo so we started with a lovely kayak on Lake Tarawera. A dormant volcano that last erupted in 1886 dominates the landscape with the shore line covered in native bush. The weather was threatening to open up and douse us with torrential rain but the weather gods were on our side and other than a couple of light showers we managed to stay dry and warm. Approximately 9 kms from our starting point our the natural hot pools so we headed in that direction. It meant we would have a 16km kayak and then have to get on the bikes or miss the ride all together. We decided to play it by ear and after a short stop and a snack at one of the beaches they decided they really wanted to go for a ride as well so we turned around and headed back to the van. When we got back we had lunch on the beach and packed up and headed for the mountain bike trails. Still no rain but the sky above was looking darker by the minute. We got set up and headed off into the Whakarewarewa forest and then the rain came. We stopped under the natural shelter of one of the many trees and assessed the situation. We took a photo while we were still dry and headed deeper into the forest hoping g we would have some cover from the trees. The trails were pretty wet but it was still a lot of fun. We rode for approx an hour and with the rain still falling so we decided to call it a day

Kayaking Plummers Point, Tauranga

Last day of the year and I picked up a kayak tour with the Carbine family, Glen, his wife Michelle and father Tom. We were originally looking at our Mount Maugnanui Marvel however being News Year Eve there was no chance of finding any parking over at Mt Maunganui. Instead we decided to go to Plummers Point. Approximately 20 minutes out of Tauranga it consists of a small community settled one of the many peninsula's overlooking the harbour. Providing very safe waters and fantastic views it is a great place to explore by kayak, with tree lined cliffs providing safe homes for our native birds like the Tui. Our paddle takes us out of the pituresque inlet through crystal clear waters and over to Motuhoe Island. Tom was interested in the bird life and we got to see several swallows nesting on the white cliffs of the island, cormorants, large black winged gulls and a couple of kingfishers. The most common critter was the jellyfish but we also got treated to a large Kahawai jumping out of the water. We stopped on one of the sandy beaches to stretch our legs before heading around to the point to gather some pipi's. (shell fish) It was soon time to head back so we got back in the kayaks and headed back to Plummer Point. A great day enjoyed by all. Thanks for the beer Glen.

Cruise Ship Update

I am happy to say we have had a little bit of success with our packages for crusie ship passengers. Not only are they particpating in our acivities but also, with the flexibility we provide we can sit down and plan the day for them. Whether it is a day in Tauranga or even Rotorua we are able to provide a unique, customised tour which includes a very friendly personal tour where they get to meet genuine people and experience the real New Zealand. Feed back has been positive with many saying it was exactly what they wanted as they find the ships packages to rigid and expensive. Also because we specialise in small groups our activities provide that personal touch and get to participate rather than being lead around in large groups. So if you are planning on coming to Tauranga on a cruise visit our web site at www.adventurebop.co.nz or drop us a line at enquiries@adventurebop.co.nz we will be more than happy to arrange activities for you.

Cruise Ship Activities

Tauranga will have close to 60 cruise ships come into its port this summer. Last year I tried to tap into the market by parking down at Pilot Bay just down form the port in the hope of getting some of the passengers and/or crew. It didn't go too well, so this year I joined forces with Blokart Heaven and Longridge Fun Park and desinged several Adventure Packages targeting the more active passengers on the ships. With some ships having over 2000 passengers and crew on top of that we are pretty sure we can get some people interested.


We have set up flags and a blokart outside the Mt Maunganui I-Site and so far it is a lot more successful than last years effort. We specialise in small groups of between 2 - 8 which enables us to provide a very personal, authentic experiecne where they get to participate and share in our unique cutlure, history and activities. Feedback has been encouraging with the groups we have had comenting on how they enjoyed getting away from the crowds and seeing the real Bay of Plenty.