Day 6 Tauranga

Well, we had a really lovely day today - the weather was great though with a strong breeze. After docking at 9am, we took shuttle to Tauranga - about 10mins - and had a walk around the main shipping street. There were loads of lovely shops for fashion and gift wares etc. We eventually settled on a spot at Starbucks where there was free wifi. Quite a few of our group also arrived there to enjoy coffee and check emails etc. It must have been about 12.30 when we got back to ship and had a light lunch up on the deck. After having crowds of people around all the time, it was nice to have lots of space everywhere as lots of people went out on organised excursions - most to Rotorua or Hobbiton. Everyone seemed to enjoy their day. 

After lunch we walked over to Mt Manganui shopping area which was quite a surprise in size. Once again there were lots of fashion shops with really beautiful garments. However we weren't tempted and gradually found our way to the beach. It was lovely to see so many people enjoying the beautiful day. Then it was off to do the walk around the base of the mountain. I foolishly briefly entertained the thought that it might be a good idea to climb to the top!!!! Luckily the thought soon passed and we headed off. Oh, was I glad we were not climbing as I found the hour walk pretty taxing - supposed to be 40minutes only. Oh well, I guess we don't travel too fast these days. We then settled for a coffee/cold drink at a cafe before starting the walk back to the ship. Whew, was I glad to get back and spent an hour on the bed to recover. I didn't even go to dinner, but made up for it after the show tonight. The show was very slick with lots of singing and dancing with lightning fast costume changes.The theatre has been packed each night - have to be there at least half an hour early to get a seat.