August 9, 2009, 6:47 pm
Te Puke, named humbly ‘the hill’ by the Maori, this fertile site in the Bay of Plenty now calls itself the ‘Kiwifruit Capital of the World’ – with some justification.
Pioneered by Ulstermen in the 19th century, and a market gardening centre since, the town now has over 7000 busy inhabitants. The population has more than doubled in two decades. Kiwifruit Country, an educational and recreational centre, offers guided tours through an extensive kiwifruit and horticultural theme park.
Only a 20 minute drive from down town Tauranga, Te Puke is growing larger every year since house prices are cheaper than buying in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui or Papamoa. Te Puke is also only a 30 minute drive from Rotorua which makes it the perfect small town to live and commute from.
June 22, 2009, 4:04 am
One of my favourite places in New Zealand is the sunny Bay of Plenty and at the heart of the Bay is Tauranga, a growing city of 120,000 people.
Tauranga can be found in the North Island on the East Coast of New Zealand. If you’re driving it will take you about 2 hours from Auckland through some incredible scenery which you would only find in NZ.
Tauranga is conveniently located about a third of the way down the North Island; this puts it in perfect position to drive to any North Island city or town. Driving to Wellington only takes about 7 hours so you can easily have an overnight trip from Tauranga.
Because Tauranga doesn’t have an international airport, the closest town to fly into would be Rotorua, which is also part of the Bay of Plenty and only a 45 minute drive away.
