A friend at the Mount

Today we had a very short drive ahead of us - over the bridge from Tauranga to Mount Maunganui. The two towns are so close together that they are really just one big sprawl. Even with a lie-in, and a gentle stroll around some gardens and the Mission House, we were still at the Mount before lunchtime. I had planned to go for a swim at the lovely long sandy beach, but it was so windy that a seagull beside our car was having his head feathers blown in the wrong direction so they stood out like a ruff, so I gave that a miss. Instead, we had a quick lunch before walking up the Mount itself. This was a steep trek, and left me puffing and panting, but the view from the top was very impressive. Sadly my trip was partly spoilt when I took a tumble on the way down and scraped my knee and foot, and I had to hobble the rest of the way, but it was still something interesting to do.

After reaching flat ground again, we were back into the car to head for the far side of the town, to meet up with Alice. We had met a few times back in Belfast through another friend, but I hadn't seen Alice in years before rather cheekily contacting her to ask if we could come and crash for a night or two. Luckily for us she is very nice and let us stay, showed us a brilliant time, and gave us loads of useful information for the rest of our trip too. After meeting one of her flatmates and a couple of other friends, we had a barbecue with Alice then headed to a local bar for a jam night, and spent the evening chatting to everyone around us and listening to the bands. It was a nice change to be around ordinary, non-backpacker people, and much more fun than we would have had in this town on our own.

The next day, after a leisurely lie-in for me and a run along the beach for Skry and Alice, it was time to start socialising again. This involved a picnic at the beach, some volleyball, and surfing/bodyboarding for those so inclined. I had some great fun on my body board, scooting along on the crest of the waves, and lots of the others were surfing. However, it turned out that there were tiny jellyfish or sea lice or some such things in the water, and poor Alice got bitten all over, which became apparent the next morning. She had to get all sorts of creams and pills to try and calm the bites down, and she looked absolutely miserable, covered in itchy spots.

Aside from that, it was all good, and we had a lovely BBQ at another house to celebrate the daughter's 18th birthday, with lots of people, loads of kids running around, and a fantastic pool and spa beside the house. I ended the evening floating on my back underneath the stars, which was absolutely lovely and definitely a highlight of our stay in this area.