The following image was taken from the sliding door of our stateroom. The weather was terrific all day today. A perfect time be near two pretty beaches.
The first activity of the day was a bus tour through the Kiwi growing region. Tauranga contains the best Kiwi farms in the country. If you look very closely at the first four images, you can see the fruit hanging just below the leaf line. Wind protection strips made of pine are grown to protect the fruit plants. The trip ended with a presentation on the Kiwi fruit with a snack, followed by a Mauri performance. The speaker loves kiwis, I mean, really loves them, with good reason. I guess I did not realize they were a super food; per Cheryl, almost as good as kale. The second most common crop is corn, also pictured.
After the Kiwi activity, we walked around downtown, took a quick trip to the beach, and then tried to hike Mount Maunganui, but it was closed due to recent mudslides (called “slips” in New Zealand). Disappointing, as we love to trek up the local hills. We have been hearing about significant issues caused by recent heavy rainfall.
After walking around, we treated ourselves to a terrific rocket salad and pepperoni pizza lunch.
Cheryl headed back to the ship, and Bob walked beach. This is one of the longest and nicest public beaches we have encountered. It goes on for miles and miles. Many people were in the water, well spaced out. A great walk before returning to the boat.
The bin caught my eye: it is not trash or garbage, it is “rubbish”.
We attended a presentation by Dr Rei Natalenko. Photography is especially relevant to colonial New Zealand, as all major historical events occurred after photography became commonplace.
Dr Natalenko pointed out that New Zealanders have a great sense of humor. A good example is when the former prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, called the opposition leader David Seymour an “arrogant prick” by mistake on a hot mic after he asked her a series of difficult questions. After the initial furor, they eventually sold a signed copy of the official record for the day at a charity auction for $100,000. Talk about making lemonade out of lemons. Another great example was when the New Zealand COVID-19 Response Minister requested that people “spread your legs” instead of “stretch your legs”, I.E. stretch your legs, not the virus. His statement went viral, and New Zealanders had a field day with memes and the like in response to his slip. He won the 2021 quote of the year for his comment.
We attended a performance by vocalist Lisa Woodbrook. Not quite as enjoyable as some of our other shows.
More images from the day can be viewed here.
As is always the case, the images within this posting are likely best viewed from the web page.