Cruising to Tauranga
Arcadia in Tauranga
The cruise ship port at Tauranga in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty sits about 4 miles outside of the city center. When we stopped there on the P&O Arcadia they had a free shuttle that would take passengers for the short ride to town. There was plenty to do within walking distance of the port for anyone who came with no prior plans or excursions booked.
view of Mount Maunganui from the ship’s stern
The cruise pier sat near the small town area of Mount Maunganui, the mountain itself looming large in the view off the stern.
ice cream shop at the pier
The smaller town was once independent of Tauranga, but was absorbed by the city after completion of a bridge between the two and is now officially a part of Tauranga. Besides the small shops you can see from the port area, Mount Maunganui also has a large shopping mall. The area is a popular vacation spot.
sailboats and other fun things for rent
A sand bar connects the mainland to the mountain – a lava dome created through an upwelling of lava several million years ago. There’s a great harbor beach running along the sandbar from near the ship to the mountain. People can swim there, rent kayaks, paddle boards, or sailboats, or walk the boardwalk to the mountain and hike to the top. Unseen from the port, the other side of the sandbar has an ocean beach popular with surfers. There’s a little ice cream shop at the end of the beach closest to the ship with a variety of unique flavors to choose from.
beachside boardwalk to the mountain
Lots of passengers from our ship hiked up the mountain. From bottom to top of the mountain some said they made it in under half an hour, others said it took much longer. All agreed the view from the top was spectacular.
Arcadia from the kayak
We walked down the beach and rented a kayak after we got back from our excursion to the Hobbiton movie set. We paddled out fairly close to the ship and took some photos.
Tauranga Shore Excursions
cruise ship passengers on the Hobbiton tour wait to see inside the open hobbit hole
Tauranga also had some interesting and unique shore excursions available for those passengers who wanted to book one. We took the one to Hobbiton, the movie set for the Shire in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Pohutu Geyser in Whakarewarewa thermal valley – internet photo
There are a number of geothermal features near Tauranga. Our ship offered a tour of Rotorua and the thermal valley and another geothermal tour to a place called Wao-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Other excursions included Maori Heritage tours and Highlights of Tauranga.
Mount Maunganui from a dock near the ship – and seagulls
Cruise Stories 
On the day I was there in 2016 it poured with rain the entire day but my sister and I did manage to have a walk on the waterfront and we loved the Hairy McLary statues.
We only made it as far as the kayak rentals and did not see the statues. Good to know there is something else interesting there.