What's On
in Papamoa
PAPAMOA BEACH
.gif)
|
By
Richard Moore
Hotels in Mount Maunganui
Hotels in Tauranga
Places
to Eat
Book
a trip out to White Island
Book
a trip out to White Island with transfers from Tauranga
Visit Moutohora Island Sanctuary
Papamoa
Beach is my place. A sleepy town on one of the best bits of sand
in New Zealand.
Situated
across the harbour bridge from Tauranga,
Papamoa is called the biggest suburb of that city but, like its
neighbour Mount Maunganui,
is really its own spot.
Papamoa
Beach township stretches for 10 kilometres along the ocean
and the beach itself spreads for more than 20 kilometres. Out from
its white sands is the island of Motiti and, in the distance east
towards Whakatane, are
Whale Island and the volcano White
Island.
When
White Island is getting a little energetic you can see the steam
rising from it while standing on Papamoa Beach.
There
are plenty of places to eat in Papamoa, mainly in the west of the
place near the main shopping areas of the Plaza and Fashion Island.
There
are petrol stations, supermarkets, a Warehouse store, and all the
banks with ATMs.
Activities
in Papamoa include climbing the Papamoa Hills several kilometres
from the town centre, going Blokarting in land yachts, fishing from
the beach, visiting the Kaiate Falls, cycling down the straight
and flat Papamoa Beach Rd or ... walking on the fabulous beach.
The
weather in Papamoa Beach is usually very pleasant with hot summers
and mild winters - except in May of 2009 when we were hit by a weather
bomb that dumped about a foot of hail on to the suburb! It stayed
around for days and turned the sands
of Papamoa Beach into a snow-like landscape.
Down
the road from Papamoa is The
Mount, or Mount Maunganui, and there are cafes and eateries
for Africa there.
On
the way you can check out whale and dolphin watching trips or organise
some fishing expeditions.
Papamoa
is a 2.5 hour drive from Auckland, 45
minutes from Rotorua and about an hour-and-a-half
from Hamilton.
|
