Tauranga – Monday, December 13th

Took a tour around Tauranga today in a mini bus (TEAR-unga). All around Tauranga are kiwi farms. We got to go to one of these farms and sample kiwi as well as wine and liqueurs made from kiwi – a place called Kiwi 360.

The lady in charge of the kiwi wine tasting told us that one of the liquors was made from leaves and berries and spices and twigs and such so Nikki and Ida conferred and renamed it “Twigs & Berries”. The guy standing next to us (also tasting) nearly snorted up his liqueur. It seemed to catch on with the staff though. The ladies said that seemed like a good name and pretty much agreed they might call it that from now on…bless them.

Just on the edge of Tauranga there is a mountain called Mt. Maganui (sp?). We had planned on hiking the mountain, but due to how long we were out on tour we were only able to go about ½ way around the mountain. Prize if you can tell us what the statue is – we couldn’t find any mention of it!