Mount Maunganui - before Rena

I was fortunate enough to visit Mount Maunganui and Tauranga a few weeks before the current disaster that is Rena.

I feel for the people of the area, this idyllic tourist town which relies so heavily on visitors, visiting ships into the port as well as the tourists for the summer season, and this disaster has happened just before that season is going to start... as if there aren't enough economic troubles for this country as it is.

I'm not going to talk about Rena, and the ecological disaster that has occoured, I simply want to share the beauty that was... and one day will be again.

At the time I visited, it was a clear day, with beautiful blue skies shining off the crystal waters, and making the white sands shine. The shells on the beaches added that touch of nature, and the unusual Moturiki island that is attached to the beachfront adds to the individuality of the foreshore.

The cafes are doing a booming trade, with amazing salads and fish meals and the people are out enjoying the sun, the surf and the wind. Here are some pictures of the area on that day.