Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty

Maori Welcom

A short cruise from Auckland is Tauranga on the Bay of Plenty.  We took a tour today to see the Bay, a Kiwi Farm, and a Maori cultural presentation.  Our guide was a Maori who took us to his home overlooking the Bay of Plenty.  Tauranga and surroundings are a popular area for holiday homes, retirees, and tourists because of the weather.  The climate is Mediterranean – we recognized many of the same plants as San Diego. The view of the Bay from our guide’s home was spectacular.

Captain Cook named the Bay – but not for the reasons imagined.  Earlier he had stopped in a bay to the south but the Maori tribe would not give him any food or water so he continued north.  On this bay, the Maori tribe gave him food and fresh water – so he named it the Bay of Plenty.  The other bay?  He named it the Bay of Poverty…a name it retains today!   A few years ago the area petitioned the government to change the name….DENIED!  Do not mess with Captain Cook!

Our next stop was for morning tea – with tea; scones with cream, and kiwi fruit; and kiwi juice.  A Maori dance and cultural presentation was next – fascinating!  Maori have been in New Zealand for about 1,000 years.  Their origin?  Most say middle Polynesia – our guide, a native Maori, thinks otherwise.  He claims his Maori ancestors were from near Taiwan.  However, many words in Maori are very similar to Hawaiian and the languages of other Pacific Islands.  Our other guides cited the Polynesia connection.  The dances, chants, songs, and cultural explanations were excellent. 

We then toured the kiwi farm with the owner – who has been growing kiwi for about 40 years.  He was a rugby player with the All Blacks in the 1970s.  Kiwis are from China where they are known as Chinese gooseberry.  They grow in a narrow band of land in New Zealand between 100 and 600 meters above sea level.  This is the area with the least number of spring frosts that destroy the flowers.  The farmer/guide uses windmills and helicopters to keep the cold air from settling on the crop when frost is a danger. 

The pollination of the fruit is complicated – the flowers have no nectar so insects and bees are not attracted naturally.  Hives of bees are rented and trucked in.  The bees go to the male plant and then to the female but return to the hive empty handed of nectar.  The farmers then go into the hive and place sugar water in the hive to keep the bees fed so they do not fly off to “greener pastures.”  Kiwis grow on vines that look more like a tall grape vine than a tree. 

Kiwi Grove Owner - Our Tour Guide

Although New Zealand is thought of as a major producer of kiwis, it is not.  One of the world’s largest producers is Italy!  Who knew?  China and the U.S. are also major producers – of course, New Zealand is the highest quality….according to our guide and the farm owner!  One of the reasons he can make this claim is that they use no irrigation, no fertilizers, and no pesticides.  The climate in the area has rain all year round and the government has very strict rules to protect agriculture from outside pests – as evidenced by our plane being fumigated on landing. 

Most of the crop goes to North America on refrigerated ships before they are ripe.  I learned how to pick a good kiwi at the store – probably best to pick one that is hard rather than soft.  Put it is a bag with an apple or banana….or put a small hole in it with a toothpick.  This releases the gas that prompts ripening.  In the natural state when on the vine, kiwi with any bruising or damage to the skin are quickly destroyed since the release of the gas can cause the other kiwi on the vine to ripen too quickly.  Our farmer/guide also quoted many studies that tout the health benefits of kiwi – it seems to cure everything!  You can even buy kiwi in capsule form! 

There are many uses of the word Kiwi here:

Kiwi – a bird

Kiwi – a New Zealander

Kiwi – a fruit. 

Sailaway from Tauranga

It was a fascinating day!