The Strand Reserve

The Strand in Tauranga City is a popular place for families and a beautiful lunch area for workers in the CBD. The heart of Tauranga. The Strand Reserve is known as having the most stunning waterfront settings in the Bay of Plenty.

During the night, The Strand lights up with it’s wonderful atmosphere of the awesome nightlife. Something to enjoy for a great night out. Also, are the fantastic featuring tidal steps in Tauranga’s City Centre. Nearby are the Hairy Maclary Sculptures right on Tauranga’s waterfront.

During the day, families enjoy spending time throughout The Strand having lunch at one of the popular restaurants or taking the kids to the waterfront playground. During the summer, this is also now wonderful place for a refreshing swim.

The Tauranga harbour has story associated with it. The story of Mauao, who now lays to rest in Mt Maunganui. The story involves how the mountain arrived where it is today. You can find and read about the story of Mauao here.

Some history of The Stand can be found here.

Tidal steps

During 2017, the tidal stairs were born out of the Access to Water project. This project was aimed at connecting the people of Tauranga with the water.

Here you will be able to spend some time having a go bombing off the bombing platform.

Whenever you find yourself down at The Strand, make your way down and dip your toes in the water, enjoy a coffee or a bite to eat from one of the great local shops while sitting on the steps, soaking up the sun while experiencing the beautiful Tauranga harbour.

An addition to these stairs is a karakia and story about Tauranga. This has been built into the stairs. While here you will be able to discover different parts of this depending on the level of the tide. The wonderful Karakia o Mauao etched into the steps, which is also approved for use by the local tangata whenua, tells of how the mountain “Mauao”, arrived at its present home at the water’s edge and how the features of the land and harbour were formed on its journey.