Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 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 in-
creasing difficulty to test your nerve.
Waimarino
Adventure Park
KAYAKING, WATER SPORTS
( 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!
Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park
TRAMPING
(
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
(
07-552 5257;
www.kaimai-new-zealand-tours.com
)
to arrange a guided tramp.
Dolphin Blue
WILDLIFE TOUR
( 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.
Dolphin Seafaris
WILDLIFE TOUR
( 0800 326 8747, 07-577 0105;
www.nzdolphin.com
;
half-day trip adult/child $140/95; de-
parts Tauranga 8am, Mt Maunganui 8.15am)
Eco-attuned dolphin-spotting trips where you
can get into the water and swim with the big fish (…sorry, mammals).
Blue Ocean Charters
FISHING
