Bay of Plenty region

The Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand is an administrative policy. It is located on the North Island to the Bay.

Geography

It has an area of 12,000km² and is completely bounded by the north of the Bay. In the east the Raukumara Range forms a natural boundary for the Gisborne region. The Southeast is determined by the rank of the region Huirau at Hawke’s Bay. The western boundary includes the Waikato region. Overall, the region is forested to a relatively large percentage.

Climate

The region’s climate is sub tropically dominated most of the year. The average temperatures in the summer can be 22 to 26°C, but rarely exceeds the 30-°C mark. In winter it is not much colder than 9°C, but not much warmer than 15°C.

Inhabitants

The largest cities in the region are Tauranga, with about 120,000 inhabitants, directly on the coast and further inland in Rotorua which has a population of over 50,000 people. To avoid disputes between the two cities in terms of their political importance, it was elected that the much smaller town of Whakatane would be the administrative headquarters of the region.

Economy

An important sector of the regional economy is agriculture including forestry. In addition, the Bay of Plenty is New Zealand’s largest kiwi-growing area. Apples and avocados are grown. Despite this emphasis on crop agriculture, also in the Bay of Plenty intensive sheep are represented. The second important pillar of the domestic economy is tourism which has grown tremendously in importance in recent times. Demand is drawn to the city of Tauranga, the vast beaches and the city of Rotorua. Rotorua is in fact a very active volcanic zone. There are several geysers, boiling mud pools, and a strong sulfur odor.

Subdivisions

In the region there is a city-district (City Council), as well as six ‘normal’ districts (District Councils):

Tauranga City Council
Western Bay of Plenty District Council
Opotiki District Council
Whakatane District Council
Rotorua District Council (part)
Kawerau District Council
Taupo District Council (part).