Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

Bay of Plenty
New Zealand

The sun soaked north eastern coast of the North Island was name the Bay of Plenty by Captain James Cook. It has more than lived up to its name as a major fruit exporting region and favourite tourist destination.

This is postmarked in 2010 with New Zealand stamp.

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The Bay of Plenty is a large indentation in the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east, a wide stretch of some 259 km of open coastline.

The bay contains numerous islands, notably the active volcano Whakaari/White Island, which lies 50 kilometres from the North Island coast in the eastern bay.

The favourable climatic and growing conditions around the bay's coast make this area a major fruit- and vegetable-growing region, with major crops including kiwifruit and apples. There is also productive pastoral land along the coast utilised for sheep and dairy farming.

New Zealand stamp 2009

1.80

Russell

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Russell, formerly known as Kororareka, was the first permanent European settlement and sea port in New Zealand. It is situated in the Bay of Islands, in the far north of the North Island. As at the 2006 census it had a resident population of 816.  Much of the accommodation in the area consists of holiday homes or tourist accommodation.