Our cruise ship was docked in Tauranga for 2 days. The first day we spent at Waimarino adventure park, from where we had scheduled an evening Glow Worm kayak tour.
Upon our arrival at Tauranga, that morning surprised us with a beautiful rainbow.
And a pretty sunrise.
Tauranga’s famous Mount Maunganui met us first. It is considered very important and sacred by the local Māori iwi, featuring extensively in local mythology. The summit is 232 metres above sea level. Since Mount Maunganui has been open to the general public it has become a popular location for many activities including scenic walks, jogging and even hang gliding.
Passing the first buildings of Tauranga city on our way to the dock.
On our way to explore the city.
Our excursion to the Glow Worm canyon was scheduled in the evening from Park Waimarino, which has been Tauranga’s premier kayaking & recreational destination since 1975. We came to the park around noon and spent over 6 hours there. Waimarino is a kayak-focused park with various water activities, plus a climbing wall & picnic areas with BBQs.
Waimarino Adventure Park is situated on the banks of the Wairoa River just 10 minutes from Tauranga city. The river is absolutely beautiful and we had a lot of fun exploring it.
It seemed like people really enjoyed the Blob.
A short video of Blob jumping.
We rented one of the catamarans below.
And enjoyed a relaxing ride on the beautiful river.
We saw all kinds of birds and ducks along the river banks.
We also took a long kayak ride along the river.
Watched as a canoe turned over in the river.
Walked around the park.
Problem with parking is solved, everyone parked under the tree.
Very pretty tree.
A view of the river from the top.
We also did some rock-climbing. We weren’t bad at all considering it was our first time.
Finally, on our way to the glow warm canyon.
Passing a beautiful arboretum.
Here, we have arrived at Lake McLaren, where our Glow Worm Kayak Tour began.
While the crew was getting the kayaks ready for us, we had a chance to enjoy locally produced refreshments while watching the ducks and swans go about their evenings preparations.
Black swans are so beautiful.
Before getting into the kayaks, we were provided with a delicious buffet. We were offered wine from the award winning Mills Reef winery, delicate New Zealand cheeses and refreshments on the edge of Lake McLaren.
Almost ready. As the sun set over the lake, our tour guide had us getting dressed up in all the gear we needed to be safe and comfortable on the water. Around 8 pm we hopped in our kayaks and set off on our adventure in the hunt for those glow worms.
After a 30 minute paddle on the rough waters we reached the canyon. Usually, the water there is completely calm, but it was very windy and rainy this evening. Our tour guide was even considering changing the kayak tour to a walking tour, but we still did kayaking. It was quite an experience!
The glow worms are situated in a narrow, high-sided canyon at the top of the lake, not in a cave, so this kayak tour only departs once a day before sunset so by the time we get to the glow worm canyon it’s completely dark, as required to see the glow worms to the best effect. The only way I can describe what we discovered next is like being in Disney World, where someone just magically switched on lights all around us. It was spectacular!
The paddle back to land was dazzling, we had only stars and moonlight lighting our way. We were following our tour guide’s kayak and provided head-torches were very helpful. The rain stopped by that time and the water was completely calm. We gently paddled on our kayaks back to the bank of the lake. Before hopping back on our busses, we took a minute to enjoy a magical night sky with a myriads of bright stars. We were even able to see some shooting stars! It was Amazing, Enchanting, Surreal!
The evening kayak tour to Glow Warm Canyon was the highlight of our NZ trip. This picture is from the Waimarino web site. They used a 2 hour exposure to take this picture.
