Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy to visit Bay of Plenty this week

The Bay of Plenty will host the Governor-General for a rare multi-day visit this week.

While Dame Patsy Reddy has attended events, including a hospice investiture ceremony, in the Bay of Plenty since taking up the Governor-General role in 2016, a visit of the length and intensity of this week's trip is unusual.

A spokeswoman for the Governor-General's office said the visit was part of a programme of in-depth regional visits.

Twice a year, the Governor-General made a trip to a different region of New Zealand to get to know it better.

This week's four-day visit by Dame Patsy and husband Sir David Gascoigne will encompass Tauranga, Whakatāne and Rotorua, starting tomorrow with a pōhiri at Huria Marae in Tauranga.

Dame Patsy has links with the area and Huria Marae as a former chief Crown negotiator of Treaty settlements for Tauranga Moana.

Later that day she will officially open The Kollective, a new community co-working space before doing the honours at the opening of the Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service facility.

On Wednesday the couple will visit Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi in Whakatāne where they will spend time with young robotics students and student nurses working with HoloLens technology.

The day ends with a reception for stakeholders and organisations involved with Dame Patsy's visit.

On Thursday Dame Patsy will be officially welcomed to Rotorua at Te Papaiouru Marae. After the pōhiri in the morning, she will visit the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Puia, with a reception for Rotorua community organisations that evening.

On Friday she will visit the Fire and Emergency New Zealand National Training Centre before heading to Scion to find out more about their research into kauri dieback.

Then it's a trip to innovative library and children's healthcare hub Te Aka Mauri and a final stop to see the restored Te Arawa Soldiers' Memorial in Government Gardens.