Shore Excursion: Tauranga Highlights Including The Elms Mission Station
Tauranga, New Zealand
Rating: 
Trip Type: Ports of Call Tours
Duration: 3 hours
Experience the best of Tauranga and Mount Maunganui. From its golden sand beaches, stunning views, kiwifruit orchards, arts and crafts industry and The Elms Mission Station - sit back while a local guide shows you why he chooses to call this place home.
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Experience the best of Tauranga and Mount Maunganui. From its golden sand beaches, stunning views, kiwifruit orchards, arts and crafts industry and The Elms Mission Station - sit back while a local guide shows you why he chooses to call this place home.After meeting your guide just outside the port gate, depart along Pilot Bay where you can see the great views across Tauranga Harbor to the city and Matakana Island. Pass Mount Maunganui, the iconic landmark of this area where you can see evidence of the early Maori settlements around the base of the mountain.
Traversing the narrow strip of land between harbor and ocean, passing the new high rise hotels and apartments, you will reach the famous Mount Ocean beach, site of many major surfing competitions, a popular spot for locals and visitors to enjoy the beach front cafes and restaurants.
Continue along the very affluent "Marine Parade" where some of New Zealand's most expensive homes are located. When you see the view out across the Pacific Ocean, you will realize why this is such a popular summer holiday destination. Leaving the Mount Maunganui suburb, head across the harbor bridge to Tauranga City, first settled by English missionaries in the 1830s.
Your first stop on the tour is at a very popular local arts and crafts center on the waterfront in Tauranga, where you have time to browse the exhibits and talk with some of the local artists at the restored historic Cargo Shed.
Take a short drive north to the outskirts of the city to a kiwifruit orchard where the guide will give you a short talk on this most iconic New Zealand fruit, perhaps while you enjoy a freshly made fruit ice-cream which can be purchased at their shop.
After the orchard visit, you then head up into the hills which surround Tauranga to a lookout point where you will see stunning views of the city, the harbor and the surrounding region and your cruise ship visible at the base of The Mount.
Your final stop on the tour is the Elms Mission Station, one of New Zealand's most important historic buildings. Here, after a short introduction by one of the volunteer guides, you will be able to walk through the grounds and learn about the life of the area's earliest settlers, the Reverend Brown and what a significant part the Mission Station played in the history of Tauranga. Then board the coach for the short drive back over the harbor bridge to your ship.
Please note that the order of the tour may vary on certain days.
Traversing the narrow strip of land between harbor and ocean, passing the new high rise hotels and apartments, you will reach the famous Mount Ocean beach, site of many major surfing competitions, a popular spot for locals and visitors to enjoy the beach front cafes and restaurants.
Continue along the very affluent "Marine Parade" where some of New Zealand's most expensive homes are located. When you see the view out across the Pacific Ocean, you will realize why this is such a popular summer holiday destination. Leaving the Mount Maunganui suburb, head across the harbor bridge to Tauranga City, first settled by English missionaries in the 1830s.
Your first stop on the tour is at a very popular local arts and crafts center on the waterfront in Tauranga, where you have time to browse the exhibits and talk with some of the local artists at the restored historic Cargo Shed.
Take a short drive north to the outskirts of the city to a kiwifruit orchard where the guide will give you a short talk on this most iconic New Zealand fruit, perhaps while you enjoy a freshly made fruit ice-cream which can be purchased at their shop.
After the orchard visit, you then head up into the hills which surround Tauranga to a lookout point where you will see stunning views of the city, the harbor and the surrounding region and your cruise ship visible at the base of The Mount.
Your final stop on the tour is the Elms Mission Station, one of New Zealand's most important historic buildings. Here, after a short introduction by one of the volunteer guides, you will be able to walk through the grounds and learn about the life of the area's earliest settlers, the Reverend Brown and what a significant part the Mission Station played in the history of Tauranga. Then board the coach for the short drive back over the harbor bridge to your ship.
Please note that the order of the tour may vary on certain days.
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