Mount Maunganui

Tuesday we drove to Mount Maunganui on the east coast of the North Island. It is a beach community with lots of shopping, restaurants, and water. Unfortunately the weather is not the best, so we wont be hitting the beach, but we have found some other things to keep us busy. Mount Maunganui (known locally as Mauao) is a 760 foot tall dormant volcanic cone at the tip of the Mount Manganui township penninsula. The town is located with several bays around it. One of New Zealand's largest ports is located in this area. On Tuesday we went to an indoor rock climbing facility. It was a bit hard, but

we had fun. We were a team, so while one was climbing the other was belaying. On Wednesday morning we hiked to the summit of the mount and then hiked around the entire base. It was a great 90 minute workout. The views were fantastic over the Pacific ocean and the town. Walking around the base, we did see some cleanup efforts of the oil that has entered the ocean from the Rena. The Rena is a cargo vessel that ran aground on Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Tauranga on October 5, 2011 spilling tons of oil and containers into the ocean. It

has been a long drawn out cleanup process of the ship and it's waste. We are shocked that after 2 1/2 months, the mess is still not under control. At this time, the ship is still out on the reef slowly being beaten up from the sea and weather. Crews are still working to remove the remaining containers from the vessel. Hopefully this tragic situation will be over soon. Thankfully there are many people getting involved to help in clean-up efforts.