New Zealand 🇳🇿 Tauranga

Tauranga,  the Māori pronunciation is taʉɾaŋa, is a coastal city in the Bay of Penty region. It is the fifth most populous city of New Zealand.

For us this trip was a cluster-f**k. To begin with, we were originally planning on going to Rotorua for the geothermal wonders. Instead we booked a flight to Tauranga. No problem, we will make it work. 

Well, it didn't quite work out as we thought. One of the main things I had planned was to hike Mount Maunganui (more the base than up to the summit). There were also hot pools at the base that we could have used after our hike. The mount and surrounding area was closed due to landslides.

Our next plan was to go to Fernland Spa. Guess what? It was closed for renovations. Believe me I'm not making this up.

What did we do?

Hairini Bridge

Train Train Train
We didn't catch the train going
over the bridge

There were walkers, runners, scooters, 
bikes, & motorcycles 🏍 all using
the walkway

My artistic picture

Our waitress said the only other thing to do is The Historic Village, a vintage inspired shopping complex. Why not, what else are we going to do? We even chose to walk there and back, a little over an hour each way.

The Faulkner House is the oldest 
residence in Tauranga
Built in 1844 

The Pot House

A cute little artistic village.

Waterfront

Herries Arch

In honor of Sir William Herries
who donated £1000 for the 
beautification of  the
Tauranga borough

Wings To Fly

Dinghy Anyone

The wooden sleepers along
the waterfront pathway
were built using timber
recovered from the
container ship MV Rena,
which ran aground on the
Astrolabe Reef off the
coast of Tauranga on
Wednesday, 5 October 2011.

Hairy Maclary and eight of his friends:
Hercules Morse, Bottomley Potts, Muffin
McLay, Bitzer Maloney, Schnitzel
von Krumm, Scarface Claw, Slinky
Malinki and Zachary Quack

There was a great playground for kids

Where & what did we eat?

Clarence Tauranga Restaurant

Bennie - ham hock, miso hollandaise,
poached egg served on a hash browns.
Absolutely delicious!

Sourdough with poached egg, onion,
mushrooms, stracciatella, & balsamic 

Turkish Eggs, toasted flatbread, 
herb yoghurt & chilli

Green Salad with feta & mustard dressing

Cappelletti with walnuts, jalapeno &
blue cheese

Conchiglie with spicy sausage

Spice Mountain was rated pretty high on Google, and it was a Napelese restaurant right up Rob's alley.

Edamame Salad
We could have just eaten this it was so good

Chicken chilli

Chicken chow mein

Where did we stay? 

Clarence Boutique Hotel is located in Tauranga's historical post office. It was a beautiful building with no lift and our room was located on the first floor (which in all other countries is our second floor).

How did we get here?

We took the ferry back to Auckland then took an Uber to the airport. We then flew New Zealand Air to our destination.

When did we visit? March 3 - 6, 2026

Stay tuned for the next part of this cluster-f**k!

Nau mai, haere mai!  Welcome, come!

New Zealand - Waiheke 🇳🇿

The name Waiheke translates to Cascading Waters. Waiheke is little more than 20km in length, 1-14km in width and 23,030 acres. It is only 17.7 km from Auckland, and 35-40 mins by passenger ferry. 

Waiheke is known as the gateway to New Zealand and for a great many centuries has been highly sought after. As a result of this, it has a rich tapestry of migration and history of warfare. 

Today Waiheke is more of a haven for holiday and homemakers. The island's tourist popularity is ever-increasing, with population swelling from 9,000 to around 50,000 during the summer months.

The island is so safe that the residents don't even bother to lock their homes or cars. They only have a handful of police and get reinforcements from Aukland during certain busy times of the year. They are primarily used for sobriety checkpoints. This is definitely another place we could live.

What did we do?

Island/winery tour with Waiheke Freedom Tours. Our guide was Onny and he was awesome! It was perfect for us. No bus, just the two of us and we could go to the smaller wineries that buses can't reach. Our first stop at Onera Beach

We did an olive oil tasting at Allpress Olive Groves. 

Our first winery of the day was Tantalus Estate.

Onto the next winery Te Motu Vineyard where we also enjoyed lunch.

Another winery but this one is located on a beach and was the furthest one we traveled to, Man O' War Vineyards.

Our last winery of the day was Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant.

Random photos from the tour.

Church on Man' O War Vineyard

Passage Rock Vineyard 
We didn't get to visit as 
they were closed

It was a great long day.  We enjoyed all the wines we tried -- some more than others.  Highly recommend doing a wine tour with a driver.

Pool

View from Infinity Pool

Sunset

 

Where did we eat? 

Delamore Lodge

Breakfast

Rainbow 🌈  to start our morning 

Every breakfast started with fresh fruits, house-made pastries and house-made granola with yoghurt.

Halloumi Brekkie 
English muffin, grilled halloumi,
 poached eggs, cherry tomatoes, &
 roast portobello 

Breakfast Quiche
Whipped ricotta, harissa yoghurt,
 rocket, & pumpkin seeds

Eggs Benedict
English muffin, poached eggs,
spinach, & hollandaise sauce

Lunch

Delamore Platter

Pre Dinner Drinks & Canapes 

Halibut, Chicken 🐔 with sirachi, & 
Caprese bites

Dinner

All set just waiting for us

Beef Antichucho with chimichurri,
potato puree, & corn rib paired with 
Passage Rock Reserve 2022 Syrah 

Halibut with curry sauce, round
beans, roasted onion, & Kumar
crisps paired with
Man Of War Valhalla 2024

Caramel creme dulche de leche with
raspberry cream & waffer paired with
Passage Rock Late Harvest Viognier
Cable Bay 2020 Five Hills (Rob)

The Archive Bar & Bistro located at Mudbrick Vineyard.

The Shed at Te Motu 

Yellowfin Tuna
Ponzu & fennel pollen

House-made focaccia extra virgin,
 

confit garlic, agrodolce

Chicken Liver Parfait with a 
Rhubarb & strawberry donut 🍩 

Pekepeke Kiore with
native Lion's Mane mushroom &
sauce au poivre

Where did we stay? 

When I started looking for lodging, the place I originally wanted to stay at was completely booked. Then I started looking into other places. Luckily, I found availability at the Delamore Lodge but it was only available for two days. We really wanted to stay a little longer, but we took what we could get. 

The Lodge is shaped like a Maori fish hook. There are four suites and two apartments for total of 16 guests. We stayed in the Motu (Island) Suite.

Funny story: The place seemed so safe that we didn't lock our door (something we NEVER do). We laid down for Rob's afternoon power nap after lunch. All of a sudden, someone walked into our room. Both he and us were totally startled! Turns out, he entered the wrong room. After that, we locked the door to keep the guests out.

This place was absolutely stunning. 😍 We could have spent our entire time in New Zealand here and been perfectly content. 

How did we get there? 

We took the Waiheke Ferry, about 45 minute ride from Auckland.

Nice day to sit top side

Auckland in the background

Bean Rock Lighthouse

Maitiatia Bay

When did we visit? March 1 - 3, 2026

Te Motu-arai-roa, signifying “The Long Sheltering Island.”