Yesterday was moving day–our first day on the open seas after pulling away from the pier in Auckland around 6:30 PM and slowly making our way along the eastern coast of Aotearoa, which is a Maori term for New Zealand, “The Land Of The Long White Cloud .” Our next destination, Tauranga.

Tauranga is a coastal city, the 5th most populous city in NZ with a population of around 162K or roughly 3% of NZ’s total population. Tauranga was first believed to be settled by the Maori in the late 13th century, on a Sunday, around 9:00 AM–– and unfortunately for the Maori, the stores were closed that day.

This is our second visit to Tauranga, NZ and we opted not to hike the Bataan Death March around Mount Maungani this time, which is a 3.4 mile hike around this extinct volcano. It is quite a beautiful and scenic hike and you can click here for a recap of our 2020 hike along Mount Maungani.

Instead we opted to visit the downtown shops and beaches and unlike the Maori, the stores were indeed open.

There appears to be more Surf shops than banks downtown and rightfully so because when you make your way to the beach, everything slows down and you find a bench and just stare out into the water. There is such beauty here and it appears grammar and middle school classes are taught outside, in the water. Tauranga is a sleepy little surf town with many offerings, geared to the outdoors. Housing is optional.

Oh…. And dress #3