Visiting friends in Whaktane

Whilst travelling through Eastern Europe last year we met Paul and Marie, an awesome Kiwi couple from Whakatane. Given that Whakatane is just a few kilometres down the road from Tauranga, we decided to go visit them today. We had lunch with Paul and Marie and their family, then spent a great afternoon catching up and shooting the breeze. Spending quality time with friends and family – that’s what the festive season is supposed to be all about really, isn’t it?

Not wanting to waste the opportunity to explore a bit more of NZ we got up early and headed out to Whakatane in the wee hours of the morning, thinking we could fit in some sightseeing before lunch. The 90km drive from Tauranga to Whakatane was lovely – long stretches of white beaches down one side and lush green hills down the other.

Whakatane itself was sooooo cute. The town is built around the Whakatane River and the estuary where the river meets the aquamarine waters of the Bay of Plenty.

Whakatane has an urban population of about 20,000, with another 15,000 people living in the outlying areas around the town. Basically its big enough to have all the “mod cons” but small enough to retain its sense of community and soul. We had a morning coffee in a cafe on the main street and  watched people going about their Saturday morning shopping. It was lovely seeing people stop in the street to have a chat and wish each other a Merry Christmas. There were even a couple of carollers regaling us with Christmas songs while we enjoyed our lattes (all slightly nauseating really, but very cute).

Some of Whakatane’s key attractions are its beaches – especially Ohope Beach and Otarawairere Beach. Ohope Beach is an 11km-long stretch of white sand that, we were informed, has been repeatedly voted NZ’s Most Loved Beach.