Mount bustling long after New Year

The New Year's rush has been and gone but downtown Mount Maunganui this week remained bustling with activity as hundreds of people walked the streets basking in the summer sun.
Cafes, restaurants and retail shops were packed with locals and holidaymakers, all eager to get a summer bargain.
Mount Mainstreet manager Leanne Brown said the summer holiday period in Mount Maunganui had been "extremely busy but very relaxed".
"It's great, [Tuesday] especially was incredibly busy and there's been a great mix of people on the street," she said.
Two cruise ships were in port on Tuesday - the Sun Princess and the Diamond Princess - bringing "a few thousand" passengers to the region, Mrs Brown said.
The Sun Princess and the Diamond Princess were the 24th and 25th cruise ships to dock in Tauranga this cruise ship season, which began in October. When the season finishes in April, 54 cruise ships will have docked in Tauranga, bringing tens of thousands of travellers to the Western Bay.
On January 2, Mount Mainstreet launched a free shuttle service to downtown Mount Maunganui for cruise ship passengers. Mrs Brown said this gave passengers the option of heading into Tauranga or staying in Mount Maunganui. "Of course there is some commercial gain, but it's about giving them options ... and to help improve their customer experience," she said.
Mrs Brown said many younger people who specifically ventured to Mount Maunganui for New Year celebrations had returned home, but older holidaymakers and families were here to stay.
"I'm sure the average age of people was younger this year, but there was no trouble and it was exactly what we wanted, but they seem to have gone and the families are the ones here now, which is a trend that we see here and in a lot of other beach towns."
Mrs Brown said the influx of people to Mount Maunganui meant more was being spent in retail stores, but she said spending was down on previous years.
A decrease in spending was not evident in local cafe Zambezi, which was packed with customers earlier this week. Owner Sarah McDiarmid said this week was particularly busy, with customers flocking from opening until close.
"From Boxing Day until New Year's is predominantly the busy time but this year it's shifted and now is really busy," she said.
Rachael Morrison, from Dunedin, was holidaying in Tauranga with her husband and three children. Mrs Morrison said the Western Bay was somewhat hard to find parks. "But we love it, it's a great place," Mrs Morrison said.
Western Bay residents Sherrin Hudson, her three daughters and good friend Anne Cooper spent Wednesday afternoon in downtown Mount Maunganui. Both women said this summer was very family-focused and Tauranga and Mount Maunganui were nowhere near as busy as previous years.
Mrs Hudson said the focus on family activities had made her consider bringing her family to Mount Maunganui Main Beach to celebrate the New Year countdown, next year.