New Plymouth

The stack on the waterfront of New Plymouth was once the tallest structure in NZ. Built in the 1970’s to house 5 flues from the coal fired power plant (decommissioned in 2008), it’s an industrial icon and was built to last. It is estimated that it will remain structurally sound beyond 2050. Not bad for a country that shakes regularly. Unfortunately it was also built with asbestos, so it’s closed to the public. The first time we saw the stack was in late 1999 when we sailed past it on our way from Whangerei, around the top of the North Island and back down to Wellington, but that’s another story…

The weather was predicted to be nice for our time here and we took full advantage of it. The Te Huanui Takutai Coastal Walkway runs along the waterfront so we started with that. Walked about 5 km then back downtown for a Guinness and Kilkenny before heading back home.

This is an interesting town with a mix of old and new in the downtown core. The 2 buildings below are on opposite corners and they couldn’t be more different!

Along with the diverse architecture, there are lots of murals around town that really stand out (we found a few of them but not all). These were part of a street art festival in February this year.

We took a meandering drive in the afternoon and found more good places to get pictures of Mount Taranaki and ended up on another beach in Waitara. Lots of people surf casting, not too many swimming. The beaches along the west coast are beautiful and we’ll explore as many as we can as we work our way north.

Day 2 was Mount Taranaki and our first stop was a mountain view lookout. A short walk beside a small lake brings you to the viewpoint. Definitely worth the stop.

We had planned for a couple of short (ish) walks on Mount Taranaki but that didn’t work out too well, we drove to the wrong side of the mountain (oops). So instead of going back and around, we found the Veronica Loop Track. About 250 meters vertical then another 75 meters or so to get to the Mountain View Lookout (which of course we did!). It was cool on the mountain and we were warned to bring warm clothing as the weather can change quickly, so we did (we didn’t need it, we worked up enough of a sweat on the climb up!) The climb up was on a track that had been upgraded a lot, with stairs and bridges all looking pretty new. We took our time and got to the top. The views were misty, we were stuck in a middle cloud layer that ringed the mountain. Still a great hike, lots of exercise, and some interesting pictures through the mist

The way back down, the other side of the loop, was the definition of the path less travelled. Narrow, not nearly as well maintained, but still a great hike. Most of the path was along ridge lines. Thick bush on either side couldn’t hide the very steep drops. Got a bit of fright when I got unexpectedly buzzed by a Morepork, a species of New Zealand owl. It buzzed me a couple of times before settling on a branch where it could keep a watch on us!

Had our lunch at the bottom of the mountain then drove to Oakura for a coffee and a shared slice of banana loaf. Nice way to end the day.

Our last day was laundry, a bit of shopping, then a drive back to Oakura for a beach walk. Nice easy day, and a great way to wind up a quick few days in New Plymouth.