As one of my favourite cities in New Zealand; Tauranga earns the right for an article dedicated to telling you all her facts.
Let's start with a few facts about New Zealand in general for those of you who aren't familiar with this beautiful nature's paradise.
With a population of approximately 4,000,000 souls New Zealand is a relatively un-crowded, unspoiled country. Many of you will know NZ because of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Ring films. These actually do a very good job at showing you a snapshot of the countryside. The stunning vistas you saw are in fact real places in this small island (there are actually two islands).
NZ made up of two islands of about the same size. The North Island is home to the nation's capital city Wellington, as well as the largest city in the country Auckland. The North Island is also where Tauranga is found, but we'll get to that soon.
The South Island has historic cities such as Christchurch and Dunedin.
Generally you'll find that the deep Southerners don't have many good things to say about the Northerners especially Aucklanders, but overall New Zealand is a great place.Tauranga is about one third of the way down the North Island on the East Coast. You can drive from Auckland in about 2 hours which makes a great day trip, but to only go for the day is severely cutting yourself short as there are many wonderful things to do here.
The fifth largest city in New Zealand, Tauranga has a population of 116,000 which is growing every day. There are many international shops and if you're looking for somewhere to stay the Sebel Trinity Waterfront hotel is Tauranga's newest international hotel located over the water on the Tauranga harbour.
You won't be short of things to do here. There are many water sports to try your hand at on the main beach at Mt Maunganui. You can take a dolphin safari to swim with the dolphins, parasail on the beach, and take a hang glider from the top of the mountain.
You can't leave Tauranga without climbing Mauao; the Maori name for Mt Maunganui, the mountain that dominates the skyline. You won't get any more spectacular views of Tauranga and Mount Maunganui and it only takes about 30 minutes to climb to the top.
You can dine in style at one of the many cafes, bars and restaurants on The Strand in Tauranga. If you visit during Easter you'll get to enjoy some Jazz music as the annual New Zealand Jazz Festival is held here every year.
Visitor Information - Tauranga, New Zealand