“Caught in the light of day.”

May 3

That’s the Māori translation for Mount Maunganui, our current location.

To the locals it’s called The Mount, and to the Māori people, Mauao. No matter the name, it’s a dormant volcano cone that is very sacred to the local Māori tribe and prominently features in local mythology.

The hike to the summit of Mount Maunganui was pretty much the reason why we came to this part of the country.

Fortunately for us, Mother Nature cooperated and dialed up a beautiful fall day.

It was a steep climb and lots of steps (576!).

We made it to the summit in about an hour, making lots of stops along the way, to catch our breath and take pictures.

The elevation gain was just over 800 feet, so a decent workout.

The climb was worth it; the views of the Pacific Ocean, Tauranga, Pilot Bay and Matakana Island were amazing.

After our hike, we rewarded ourselves with an iced coffee and pastry from Tay Street Cafe. So much for our workout!

Unfortunately for us, we’re only here for one day. This is definitely a place we would return to. The beach is beautiful, there’s tons of hiking trails and the town has a cool vibe with lots of enticing places to eat.

We worked up an appetite walking around town, so we had an early bird dinner at Rice Rice Baby. I had a delicious chicken curry and Mitch had a mediocre tofu banh mi.

Needing something sweet after dinner, we shared a dairy free rolled ice cream from Polar Dessert Bar. Yum!