Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Maunganui with a stop on Matakana Island cost $150/125 per adult/child. A two-to-three
hour cycle around Tauranga costs $95.
Adrenalin Forest
( 07-929 8724;
www.adrenalin-forest.co.nz
;
Upper Pyes Pa Rd, TECT All Terrain Park; adult/child $42/27;
10am-2.30pm daily, closed Mon & Tue Jun-Aug)
About 26km from Tauranga en route to Rotorua is
this heart-starter: a series of high-wires, flying foxes, platforms and rope bridges strung
through a grove of tall conifers. There are six different routes of increasing difficulty to
test your nerve.
EXTREME SPORTS
Waimarino Adventure Park
( 0800 456 996, 07-576 4233;
www.waimarino.com
; 36 Taniwha Pl; kayak tours from $65, kayak hire per hr/day
$26/55, park day-pass adult/child $40/32; 10am-6pm Sep-Apr, 10am-5pm May-Aug)
On the banks of the
Wairoa River 8km west of town, Waimarino offers freedom kayak hire, self-guided kayak
tours, sea kayaking trips and a magical Glowworm Tour ($120 per person) at McLaren
Falls Park. The adventure park here has all kinds of watery distractions: a kayak slide, a
diving board, a ropes course, water-walking zorbs, warm pools, and a human catapult
called 'The Blob' − intense!
KAYAKING, WATER SPORTS
Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park
(
www.doc.govt.nz
;
SH29)
The backdrop to the Western Bay of Plenty is the rugged
70km-long Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park, 35km southwest of Tauranga, with tramps for
the intrepid and huts (per person per night $5 to $15) and campsites ($6). For more info
see DOC's pamphlet
Kaimai to Coast
($2.50), or contact
Kaimai New Zealand Tours
(
TRAMPING
07-552
5257;
www.kaimai-new-zealand-tours.com
)
to arrange a guided tramp.
Dolphin Blue
( 027 666 8047;
www.dolphinblue.co.nz
; day trips adult/child $150/100; departs 8.30am)
Unhurried,
small-group (15 people maximum) day trips across Tauranga Harbour and out onto the
Bay of Plenty in pursuit of pods of dolphins. When you find them, you can jump in and
splash around with them.
WILDLIFE TOUR
Dolphin Seafaris
WILDLIFE TOUR
