Te Puke Kiwi Centre to Tauranga

Te Puke's Kiwi 360 Centre

There are tours running around the orchard to get a look of their operations, kiwi facts and etc but we just skipped that.. We still manage to get a look of the orchard as it is accessible beside the main entrance...

Wow, Kiwi fruits hanging so cutely =) Look at their size, almost ready by winter for picking~~

Back in 2010, PSA (bacterial kiwifruit vine disease) was discovered in Te Puke which caused a lot of losses to orchards due to damage of the kiwifruit trees here.. The PSA virus has decimated Kiwifruit crops and it may have arrived via a shipment of pollen from China. Even after two years, according to Pete's Uncle in Auckland, the kiwifruit doesn't taste as good as it used to be. That's why agricultural countries like NZ is very strict when it comes to fruits & vege quarantines at the airport to protect their industries.

A wild Plum tree, but the fruits are not as good as farmed one, very sour >.<

Reaching Tauranga, another bigger city of NZ.. Having our lunch by the seaside...

Think there are like 2 rows of shops in Tauranga.. Worth the walking as there aren't much the area. But the Tauranga beach is really nice..

Mount Maunganui, Tauranga

Camped at Dickey Flat DOC Campsite

Very popular campsite, by the time we reach the camp at 5pm it is almost full, also due to summer holidays many people are travelling to these natural spots..

Boxing Day @ Rotorua

BOXING day~~ Wow so happy to see sales everywhere.. Rotorua is not a big town to shop but for us it is still okay since we are not good shoppers anyway..

Well, the end result, we didn't manage to buy many things, only Peter got some shirts and pants.. Not fair!!

Nice to soak our feet in this hot spring after a day's window shopping... At Kuirau Park footbaths, near the town centre. We are ready to leave the rotten eggs smell city of Rotorua now, heading back North to Tauranga.

On the way, we stopped at Te Puke, the kiwi town of NZ =) Or actually, Te Puke is the world's Kiwifruit Capital! 

There is a caravan park just beside this Kiwi 360 centre, their price is quite cheap, and caters mostly to backpackers who worked at this Kiwi farm during winter picking season. There are really a lot of Kiwi farm around Te Puke..

P&A worst tasted and most creative failed home cook dish Apricot chicken with potato.. Angie almost want to vomit after tasted for the first bite.

But Peter finished the rest... :P