{"id":11557,"date":"2024-05-03T23:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T11:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/?p=11557"},"modified":"2024-05-09T21:01:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T09:01:24","slug":"caught-in-the-light-of-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myblogary.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/03\/caught-in-the-light-of-day\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cCaught in the light of day.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

May 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mount Maunganui<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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That\u2019s the M\u0101ori translation for Mount Maunganui, our current location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tangaroa, god of the sea<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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To the locals it\u2019s called The Mount, and to the M\u0101ori people, Mauao. No matter the name, it\u2019s a dormant volcano cone that is very sacred to the local M\u0101ori tribe and prominently features in local mythology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The hike to the summit of Mount Maunganui was pretty much the reason why we came to this part of the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fortunately for us, Mother Nature cooperated and dialed up a beautiful fall day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was a steep climb and lots of steps (576!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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The elevation gain was just over 800 feet, so a decent workout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The climb was worth it; the views of the Pacific Ocean, Tauranga, Pilot Bay and Matakana Island were amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On the way down<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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After our hike, we rewarded ourselves with an iced coffee and pastry from Tay Street Cafe. So much for our workout!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tay Street Cafe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Unfortunately for us, we\u2019re only here for one day. This is definitely a place we would return to. The beach is beautiful, there\u2019s tons of hiking trails and the town has a cool vibe with lots of enticing places to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Needing something sweet after dinner, we shared a dairy free rolled ice cream from Polar Dessert Bar. Yum!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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