New Plymouth

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I was woken by the sound of the ducks quacking their way around the campsite trying to cadge breakfast off anyone. Ignoring them, I slept for a further hour and then, peering out of the curtains, noticed that the goat had been moved. Unfortunately, it seemed I was going to have to make alternative arrangements for breakfast.

It was a little overcast so I resorted to breakfast thoroughly indoors. However, it wasn’t raining but, having washed up all the dishes and venturing outside to pack the cables away, it was clearly time to put a jumper on! The next problem was working out how to get back onto my route north, as the campsite was some 9km east of the city. A quick study of the map indicated a solution via a housing estate. So, memorising the route, I made my way across the city and duly came out at the junction, which was also on a junction and by an un-gated level-crossing. Confused? So was I! I couldn’t see who would have right of way in crossing as we all appeared to have “Give Way” signs. So, having waited a while, I did the next best thing and pulled into the traffic. Now, it was 09h00, in a city and the traffic was, I guess busy for what would be rush hour and both cars kindly let me across - probably because I was bigger!

The main road north was, as has been over the past few weeks, empty. There was even the obligatory gravel section just to confuse the confident! The towns were few and far between, and, rather dull really. Although, as I needed to top up with fuel, I was keeping an eye out for the next exciting city to see what delights it would hold. Finally, I made it to Hawera; a major junction where all the eastern and western routes in the Taranaki area meet. The 8,000 inhabitants are primarily employed in the dairy industry either as farmers or as workers in world’s largest diary factory complex. One person is also employed in the Elvis Presley Room, a garage containing some 5000 items of memorabilia. I have to admit, it was a close thing between that and the Water Tower “with fine views over the surrounding countryside”. I’d have tossed a coin, if I hadn’t spent it gaining access to the “Trolley Bus and Rag Doll” museum in Foxton!

Leaving the obvious excitement of Hawera, I opted for the northern route around Mount Taranaki, rather than following the slightly longer Surf Highway, which runs approximately some 3km from the sea! It was just north of Hawera that I got my first sighting of Mount Taranaki. It’s a beautiful cone shaped volcano, with a pristine white snow cap, being the perfect example of a mountain drawn by a child. My first sight was through the cloud and it looked as though there was smoke emanating from the summit, though in fact it was cloud. Still, it was an impressive sight.

Having repeatedly stopped to take photographs, I now stopped again - to have lunch, although my view of the mountain was obscured by the roof of the van! Still, it was a quiet spot and it was en route to my first event of the day - the Pukeiti Gardens. Don’t forget that it’s currently spring time here in New Zealand and so a visit to these world renowned Rhododendron gardens, containing over 2000 examples, was a recommendation. With plants flowering all year, the garden was a real treat - a quiet retreat through natural forest and rather beautiful examples of nature. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t realise that these plants could differ so wildly from those which grace our gardens in the UK. My favourite was a tiny plant with pink bell-like flowers which resembled lily-of-the-valley.

Anyway, moving on from something tasteful, I was brought back to reality by realising that all the road signs pointed to Pukeiti and not to New Plymouth. Thinking laterally, I decided that if Beach Road went to the Beach and Cemetery Road went to the Cemetery, then Plymouth Road must go to (or from) New Plymouth. Not having anything to lose, I headed off towards the coast and promptly came to a junction - labelled Beach Road. Being totally confused, I had little option but to head that way and sure enough, after several miles, came back to the main road into New Plymouth. Being on the coast road, I found that I was near the Sugar Loaf Islands. Rather annoyingly, these islands have been positioned right next to the power station and oil refinery; one would have thought that they would have been moved away from a monstrous grey chimney that, fortuitously, failed to appear in any of my photos (or those of the tourist board - although the employment brochures apparently play very heavily on the proximity)!

The Sugar Loaf islands are old volcanic plugs and were given their name by Captain Cook. They provide a haven for all sorts of wildlife including whales and dolphins (the whales get up early and leave their towels on the beach much to the annoyance of the dolphins) and little blue penguins. The beaches however are made up of black sand.

I slowly made my way down the coast, stopping at each car park to sample the delights of each beach, before finally coming to a stop when I’d reached a road named on my map. Abandoning the van, I then walked the 2 miles into New Plymouth along the Coastal Walkway. By now, the sun was shining but there was an onshore breeze, though not enough to create a chill. Typically, the tide was out (it’s always been out whenever I’ve had to go to the beach, except at Hot Water Beach, when it was in and I needed it out!) and the beach was just a 100yds of rock. However, it was a pleasant enough walk and gave me the opportunity to marvel at Len Lye’s world famous kinetic sculpture, the Wind Wand.

Replenished by a coffee and chilli chicken roll, I walked back to the van and headed into the city, to Pukekura Park. Apparently, the cricket pitch was used as the Samurai Village in the film The Last Samurai. Allegedly, Tom Cruise is reputed to have said, whilst filming, “This is the most beautiful place I’ve filmed in today”. However, it seemed to me that Mount Taranaki was hidden behind the trees! However, the gardens are absolutely gorgeous and if I was ever to produce a book of photographs of red wooden bridges over lakes, this site would have to go with the red wooden bridges over lakes in Singapore and Hanoi!

The hour was getting late and it was, unfortunately, time to head for the night stop. Urenui is some 20km north of New Plymouth and, like most places in the area, has a black beach. Unlike other camps, it’s actually quite difficult to find the reception office as the site not only caters for campers and campervans, but also has a permanent residency and some baches. Having found the office, I was greeted by a sign proclaiming “It’s a boy - back tomorrow”. Oh well, this must be business the New Zealand way. So, I found a pitch, wired myself in to the electricity and settled down for a quiet night by the beach.

In case the H&S Executive ever reads this, it was my van that was wired in, not me.

Distance travelled: 244km / 152 miles

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Photos

Urenui Beach
Campsite for the night - and boy, was it cold!