Tauranga/Bay of Plenty

Given the name 'Bay of Plenty' by Capt Cook in one of his circumnavigations of the country back in the 1770's, the area lives up to its name. One of the fastest growing cities in the country is Tauranga  and this is largely a reflection of the growth in the region where kiwifruit and other intensive horticulture is the dominant agriculture.

	Mt Maunganui. This is an excellent surf beach. Attempts to place an artificial reef offshore have not been that successful, but it hasnt destroyed the popularity of the beach. The port of Tauranga has developed on the protected side of the sandy spit that joins the volcanic mountain to the mainland. It exports logs from the Central Plateau interior and serves as a secondary port moving cargo similar to the main port of Auckland.
Te Puke is the main centre of kiwifruit production in the Bay of Plenty and indeed New Zealand. Most of the marketing is controlled by one company 'Zespri', one of the names of the fruit overseas. (The kiwifruit name was not trademarked by New Zealand which caused problems of identification overseas.)
	On the eastern side of the Bay is Whakatane, one of the sunniest places in the country with about 3500 hours per year. ( It has the north facing valleys round Nelson and Blenheim in the north of the South Island as the main competitors. Like Te Puke, its survival is based on intensive horticulture on the surrounding land. Also it is close to the active volcanic White island  off the coast, and boats take people over the river bar to fish and get up close to the island. It is not safe to land on, but planes also fly over it.
The seaside community  at Ohope has a mixture of permanent residents and those who own a 'bach'; a second home, a holiday home. It has developed quickly over the last two decades and is close enough to Auckland to attract people especially for the long Christmas and New Year breaks. ( The long vacation for schools is from mid December until the end of January).The beach continues the sandy characteristics of the other beaches in the area.	White Island,close to Whakatane and Ohope.