Tauranga: a shopping mecca

One of the first things I noticed about Rotorua was that it isn't that great for clothes shopping (okay, maybe after I'd gotten over the bubbling mud and the redwood forest and the lake). Doesn't really bother me that much - I'm not a massive shopping fan, and it does mean that when you need something specific, a road trip to somewhere else is required.....
A couple of weekends ago, my friend Lisa was in desperate need of a dress to wear to an outdoor wedding, so she, another friend Andrea, and I decided to drive up to the coast and check out the shops in Tauranga. Turns out they were quite good - I found enough little kiwi designer boutique things to keep me happy, Lisa ended up with a choice of three of four nice dresses and Andrea just got to shop! And we got to have a nice lunch:
It was a beautiful sunny day so we spent the afternoon at the beach