Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty occupies the northeast-facing coast of the North Island, sheltered from the prevailing westerly swells by the Coromandel Peninsula and exposed instead to northeast and east swells that arrive from the Pacific. The dominant local landmark is Mount Maunganui — a 232-metre volcanic cone at the tip of a sand spit, with a surf beach on its ocean side and a sheltered harbour beach on the Tauranga Harbour side. The Mount surf is beach break, consistent and approachable, and functions as the East Coast's main surf hub. Spring tidal range in the bay is 1.8 to 2.5 metres — moderate, semidiurnal. Tauranga is New Zealand's largest and busiest export port by volume, handling the kiwifruit, timber, and dairy output of the central North Island agricultural hinterland. Whakaari (White Island), 50 kilometres offshore in the bay, is an active marine volcano accessible by boat or helicopter tours when conditions and volcanic alert levels allow; a 2019 eruption killed 22 people. Kiwifruit orchards run to the coast on the western bay margins. For authoritative New Zealand tide data, consult LINZ (Land Information New Zealand).