Leg Day – Phyllis

We are staying in Tauranga, at the moment.

Just before we left, Daniel told us that he had done leg day at the gym and was feeling it.

We felt it today.

We started out hiking at Kaiate Falls after breakfast. It’s a short hike, only two kms, but it’s a steep trail, often necessitating overly tall stairs (Ken quit counting after 225), and there was a lot of hill to climb between sets of stairs. The falls are nestled in a deep valley, hidden in agricultural land and could not be found without specific directions.

The falls come down in stages, so there is a new view every few hundred metres. The last fall is 15 metres high with what looks like a lovely swimming hole at the bottom. However, it is not clean enough to swim in safely. My phone’s health app indicated that I walked 15 stories in this endeavor. I don’t generally track anything, but this number will be more relevant at the end of this post.

Our next stop was Papamoa Beach. There are some very nice vacation properties lining this 16 km stretch of white sand, warm gentle waves and Tuatua shells.  Generous beach access points have been set every few houses and there were nice parks with picnic tables and play structures along the way, as well.  We spent a bit more than an hour walking and then headed up to a Coffee Bar for a late morning snack. I found my first cup of decaf in a week.

Before I get to our third activity, let me say that we spent an hour in a hot pool to finish off the day after a dinner of NZ style moules et frites. We’re not sure that the water source was a thermal outlet, but they were very soothing at the end of a strenuous day.

So, why did we need hot pools?

We did Mount Maunganui, at mid-day, under a hot sun. We didn’t count the stairs, but my health app at the end told me that I had climbed 81 floors today. It may not be an accurate indicator but it certainly showed the difference between the climbs.

It was worth the effort. This hill is located near the end of a narrow peninsula with the touristy area of Tauranga on one side and a busy port area on the other side.

The views of the beaches stretching all along the side of the peninsula are stunning. NZ is celebrating Waitanga Day (the day the British signed treaties with the Maori people) this Tuesday, so there were lots of people in the area for that event, as well as an international cricket game and a music festival.