It was a glorious morning, with blue skies and brilliant sunshine…a great day for a walk!
We drove down the beach side road to the tip of the peninsula, parking up and starting a hike up Mount Maunganui (an old volcano), the mountain that gave the town it’s name.
We started on the summit walk, which would take us to the top of the 232 metre ‘Mount’ (or Mauao as it is known to the Maori).
It was a tough steep climb, but the views from the top were well worth it. We got perfect 360 degree views of the Bay of Plenty area and coastline, even catching a glimpse of the White Island (NZ’s most active marine volcano) in the distance.
According to Maori mythology, Mauao was once a nameless mountain that stood inland. It came to rest in it’s current location after falling in love with a nearby mountain called Puwhenua. When she did not reciprocate, Mauao was so upset he called upon his fairy-like friends to drag him to towards the coast and help him drown in the Te Moananui-a-kiwa (the Pacific Ocean) in the darkness of night. He made it to the end of the peninsula, but at that moment the sun started rising. His friends, being creatures of the night, were forced to flee back to the forest, and left him stranded there forever. This is how the name Mauao came about, it means ‘caught by the dawn’.
Back down on the white sand beach we walked across to Moturiki Island, climbing to it’s summit to get superb views back to the beach, ‘Mount’ (Mauao) and the Pacific Ocean beyond.
After lunch we did the walk around the base of the mountain. The walk was beautiful, aided by the lovely sunshine we were lucky enough to enjoy. In the distance of the below photo you can see Moturiki Island, which we walked onto in the morning.
Before going back to the campsite we drove down to Papamoa Beach, where, like two oldies we sat in the van enjoying the sun, sea and sand with a drink!
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