Scenic Tauranga Tour

About the audio tour

On a gorgeous sunny day, the light sparkles on top of the sheltered water here like scattered pearls. As you breathe in the air purified by the Kaimai mountain ranges and harbour, notice how uplifted you feel.

Tauranga is the main city in the Bay of Plenty Region. It bears that name for good reason, both early Maori and Europeans could clearly see the value in this land compared to other nearby regions. Wars were waged to claim dominance of Tauranga, which is now a vibrant, rapidly expanding, sophisticated city.

You can easily get this totally unique tour with your smartphone. As you walk around, GPS works to automatically trigger audio commentary.

Relax and enjoy the stunning sights as I guide you around and tell you the intriguing and often scary recent history of this area and how it transformed into what you see today.

Major Landmarks

The Elms, The Mount (Mauao), Tauranga Harbour Bridge

Directions to starting point

The Elms car park. This is only a 10 minute walk from the I-Site (downtown Tauranga). From the I-Site, go up Willow St (it slopes up), cross the road and turn left, then follow the footpath to the right, then turn right into MIssion Street. This is where you start

Tips

Places to stop along the way:

The Elms, Rose Gardens, Fresh Fish Market, Cafes, Restaurants, Pubs, Cargo Shed Arts and Crafts

Best time of day:

It's best to do this route during daylight hours. Summer: between 6:30am and 8.30pm. Winter: between 8:30am and 5pm.

Precautions:

As always, keep your valuables out of sight if leaving them in your car. This is usually a very safe area.