At the beginning of November, I was lucky enough to be able to spend 3 days working in Tauranga. I drove around the city and surrounding area, getting a feel for the district and checking out some important sites. There were a couple of things that struck me about the area. First is that the small rural oasis between Mount Maunganui and Papamoa seems to be in great danger of disappearing. Already there seemed to be glossy subdivision plans on display on the some of the remaining blocks of land. Second, that Mauao is a distinctive and iconic presence around the region. I could clearly see it from Papamoa, Tauranga city centre, Judea, Mt Maunganui, and Omokoroa. These photos are just come of the many I took during the trip. Most of them, however, are of pieces of 'undeveloped' land. These show the view down the hill from Mangatawa, the mother whale. Mauao can clearly be seen in the distance, as can the town, the line of the sewage pipe and the warning sign for a gas pipeline. A good deal of Mangatawa hill itself has been blasted away by quarrying operations. The second photo shows Maungatapu marae, tucked in just at the end of the peninsula where the Tauranga-Te Maunga motorway crosses the harbour to the Matapihi peninsula. The third photo of a Katikati information sign is not really work related, but kinda took my fancy. As apparently it also did for someone else..... The fourth photo shows McLaren Falls, part of the Kaimai hydro project. Despite the fact the Wairoa River has been harnessed for power generation, it is still very beautiful up there. Just a little further on from McLaren Falls is McLaren Falls Park, a recreation site around the artificial hyrdro lakes. The final photo shows low tide at Omokoroa. The long thin line in the background is Matakana Island. I didn't make it out there this trip, but would love to go across some time in the future.
At the beginning of November, I was lucky enough to be able to spend 3 days working in Tauranga. I drove around the city and surrounding area, getting a feel for the district and checking out some important sites. There were a couple of things that struck me about the area. First is that the small rural oasis between Mount Maunganui and Papamoa seems to be in great danger of disappearing. Already there seemed to be glossy subdivision plans on display on the some of the remaining blocks of land. Second, that Mauao is a distinctive and iconic presence around the region. I could clearly see it from Papamoa, Tauranga city centre, Judea, Mt Maunganui, and Omokoroa. These photos are just come of the many I took during the trip. Most of them, however, are of pieces of 'undeveloped' land. These show the view down the hill from Mangatawa, the mother whale. Mauao can clearly be seen in the distance, as can the town, the line of the sewage pipe and the warning sign for a gas pipeline. A good deal of Mangatawa hill itself has been blasted away by quarrying operations. The second photo shows Maungatapu marae, tucked in just at the end of the peninsula where the Tauranga-Te Maunga motorway crosses the harbour to the Matapihi peninsula. The third photo of a Katikati information sign is not really work related, but kinda took my fancy. As apparently it also did for someone else..... The fourth photo shows McLaren Falls, part of the Kaimai hydro project. Despite the fact the Wairoa River has been harnessed for power generation, it is still very beautiful up there. Just a little further on from McLaren Falls is McLaren Falls Park, a recreation site around the artificial hyrdro lakes. The final photo shows low tide at Omokoroa. The long thin line in the background is Matakana Island. I didn't make it out there this trip, but would love to go across some time in the future.
1 comment:
Good photos and great to share a little of it with you. Tauranga/BoP region is so rich in both Maori culture and attractive scenery.
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