Ten things to do in Tauranga

By COLIN MOORE

Give yourself a lift with a parasail flight off the back of a fast boat at Mt Maunganui. Parasail BOP has taken people aged from 4 to 70, and even a dog. Parasailers take off from a boat and land back on board. They can stay dry if they want.

Contact: Ph (07) 574 7333, 025 791934.

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Get your adrenalin pumping at Longridge Park, near Te Puke. The tourism award-winning park runs jet boating and rafting adventures on the Kaituna River. The raft ride contains 15 drops in 40 minutes, including a 7m waterfall. If that sounds too exciting, the park runs guided tours of a kiwifruit orchard and a mini farm where children can hand-feed animals. The raft ride and jet boat combined costs $129.

Contact: Ph (07) 533 1515.

The Longridge grounds are also site of Longridge Hill Hoppers, a u-drive four-wheel-drive adventure. Negotiating the 3km course costs $55 for adults, $25 for children.

Contact: Ph (07) 533 1818

e-mail udrive@adventure4wd.co.nz.

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Relax in Tauranga's parks and reserves. Robbins Park and Rose Gardens are a haven. The Tauranga district has 27km of public walkways, ranging from 15-minute strolls to two-hour hikes. The district also has 52 playgrounds. For a detailed brochure, contact the Tauranga District Council customer service centre, ph (07) 577 7000.

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The giant kiwifruit at Kiwifruit Country is surely destined to become part of Kiwiana heritage. It overlooks the orchard where visitors can trundle around on a train with carriages shaped like ... kiwifruit. But one of the best features of Kiwifruit Country, 5km south of Te Puke on the Rotorua-Te Puke Highway, is its souvenir shop. Think of an object and you'll find a kiwifruit version of it.

Contact: ph (07) 573 6340

e-mail kiwifruit@bopis.co.nz.

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Dolphin Seafaris, a Mt Maunganui-based adventure, visits islands off the Tauranga coast which have populations of seals, turtles and blue penguins, as well as whales and dolphins. Wetsuits will keep you warm while you swim with these intelligent and playful creatures. The trips cost $100 for adults and $85 for children aged between 5 and 12. Bookings are essential.

Contact: ph 0800 326 8747

e-mail bookings@nzdolphin.com.

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Step into the past at the Elms, Tauranga's former Church Missionary Society mission station. Rev Alfred Nesbit Brown founded a mission station in Tauranga in 1835 after working in the Bay of Islands.

The Elms Mission House, built in 1847, is one of New Zealand's finest late-Georgian homes. The house was a family home for more than 150 years and features a library containing more than 1000 books dating from 1839.

The Elms is on the corner of Mission and Chapel Sts. It is open to visitors on Sundays and public holidays from 2 pm to 4 pm. Entry is $5.

Contact: The Elms Foundation, ph (07) 577 9772.

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From snapper to marlin, there is no shortage of fish waiting for keen anglers in the Bay of Plenty. Blue Ocean Charters specialises in trips for individuals but also takes groups on half- or full-day reef fishing and day or overnight hapuka fishing. The company also runs harbour cruises and sightseeing trips to Mayor and White islands.

Contact: ph (07) 578 9685

e-mail blueocean@xtra.co.nz.

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Try the outdoor activities at the Papamoa Adventure Park in Welcome Bay Rd. The park offers horse-riding, a dirt-track luge, paintball game, Argo eight-wheel drive tours, target shooting and grass skiing. Bookings recommended.

Contact: ph (07) 542 0972

e-mail papamoa.adventure.park@xtra.co.nz.

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Pyromania in Wharf St, Tauranga, is a cooperative gallery specialising in work by New Zealand artists and craftspeople. The gallery is open six days a week.

Contact: ph (07) 578 5028.

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Go shopping in downtown Tauranga. It has been redeveloped as a relaxing environment full of quality boutique shops. Palms and the nearness of the harbour edge give the cobbled mall a feel of Queensland resorts. Mainstreet Tauranga, at e-mail mst.tga@ihug.co.nz, can take much of the credit.