View of the northern end of Tauranga Harbour near Waihi Beach

View overlooking a small town with Waihi Beach in the background

The Mount from near Waihi Beach

Mt Maunganui from Graeme and Pamela's house in Welcome Bay, where I am staying

A view from Mt Maunganui

Tauranga City with the Ocean on the left and the Harbour on the right

The Mount Beach from halfway up Mt Maunganui

The view from the GHD office in Tauranga

Coromandel Townsite (on the bottom right) from another Lookout location

The Western Coast of the Peninsula

One side of the Cove

First week in Tauranga

I started work in the GHD Tauranga office on Monday the 14th of March and the week and a half I have had, has been full on the say the least. It started with my virgin run at hash house harriers, a drinking club that runs. The couple I am staying with (Dicky liquor and Fartoo - Hash Names) are awesome people and they dragged me along last Monday night and it was a great start to the week which included a run, followed my drinking, singing and eating. Great fun. Anyway Tuesday night we climbed Mt Maunganui, which overlooks Tauranga, a really great walk with spectacular views from anywhere on the trail. Well worth the pain in my calf muscles, which were soothed in the hot water pools located at the base of the Mount. The rest of the week has included a variety of different things to do and basically coming down to eating, drinking, kareoke, swimming, and more than I can remember. But it has been enjoyable. Please view the photos from in and around Tauranga.

Coromandel Townsite from the lookout of the ranges

Lookout near Catherdral Cove

Catherdral Cove

Me in the Catherdral Cove

Port Jackson with Great Barrier Island in the Background

Small bays like this, are a common site on the Coromandel Peninsula.

The west coast of the Coromandel Peninsula

Coromandel Peninsula

On the weekend, Toby and I decided to tame the mighty Coromandel Peninsula, this was only really decided as we were driving south towards Hamilton (www..thepeninsula.co.nz). The trip started in Thames for breakfast, and as we ventured further down the track, we came across numerous small settlements built between the base of the Coromandel Ranges and the road which hugged the coastal rocks. Once we reached the town of Coromandel, lunch and mini golf were on the cards, before setting off towards Port Jackson, the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula. What we didn't know was there was a mountain bike race on and we had to share the gravel road with hundreds of mountain bikers cycling towards us, watching every bend and hill, with the odd ambulance racing towards us. AND I can guarantee that the slow painful trip out there was worth every bit of it. The coastal scenery was absolutely beautiful. So peaceful and tranquil with a smooth ocean and rugged coastal cliffs. So after an hour or so we reached Port Jackson to find out that it was a camping spot and there is nothing there, and turned around and headed to Whitianga for the night (www.whitianga.co.nz). To get from the Coromandel side (West Side) of the Peninsula to the Whitianga side of the Peninsula (East Side) we had to drive over the ranges which provides great views of both coasts. Once in Whitianga we looked for accommodation only to find NIL. Yes there was seven weddings on that night and all accommodation was gone, so the night had to be spent in a beach side car park in the car. So like the troopers we are, had a few beers in the car before getting dressed in the car park and a pommie shower and headed to the pub for a nights session. So once again meeting some nice backpackers, and walking home, only to be disturbed by one annoying local. It just wouldn't have worked anyway in the car. After a late night and an early morning swim, we headed off (not feeling the best from sleeping in the back of the car) to a couple of tourist spots, like the Hot Water Beach and Catherdral Cove. Catherdral Cove is basically a hole in a rock with a beach either side, a 45 min walk will get you to it but it well worth the walk with the great scenery you get once down there and a great beach to have a swim in as well. After the Cove we drove to the Hot Water Beach, which is a normal surf beach with two natural hot water geyers underneath the sand, which get to approximately 65 degrees. The place is only really worth visiting at low tide as that is when you can dig a hole in the sand and appreciate the hot water, by creating your own natural spa on the beach. It was really funny to see a load of people with shovels digging small spas in the sand. I experienced the hot water beach by digging my feet into the sand and having the hot water soak my feet and the cold ocean splash my legs, a really bizarre feeling. After the hot water beach experience it was time to leave and head for home. The traveling for the weekend may have finished but I had to get back to Auckland so that I could pack for Tauranga and head off monday morning to start in the GHD Tauranga Office. Tauranga is located approximately 200km South East of Auckland on the coast and contains about 100,000 people.

The Wairoa River is usually dry and rocky until its released 26 times a year.

This is where the rafting starts. The Water is released beyond that yellow warning sign.

And Another.

A typical scenic river shot.

A small waterfall.

A few general photos of the Wairoa River.

The crew we tamed the mighty Wairoa River with.

The "wet"stage of the "washing machine"

Half way to getting wet from this rapid.

The start of the "washing machine" rapid.

The "wave" from Mark ! Hilarious !

The start of the "water fall"

The finale of the first rapid with the tough man look from Mark !

The sign of relief on most of our faces.

The first major rapid . . . look at the concentration.

White Water Rafting - Take 2

Well after a few weeks the photos have finally arrived from the White Water Rafting trip. The person to note will be Mark (sitting to the left of me), firstly with a clenched fist looking tough, then backed it up with a miserable poofy wave, really funny stuff. So please refer following photos of the Wairoa river adventure. . . . . . .