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Published: January 14th 2008
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Day 66 continued...Lovely New Plymouth
By the time the bus arrived in New Plymouth, I was feeling quite nauseous and definitely not at all in the mood for lugging my heavy load up to the nearest YHA hostel, a joyous three kilometre trek uphill. I was about 500 metres away when a kind taxi driver pulled over and offered me a free ride for the rest of the walk. For once, I realised that it wasn't the time or place to be stubborn and insist on doing things the hard way, and so willingly accepted.
Up at the hostel, everyone seems really nice. Being a bit off the tourist track and not on the backpacker bus routes, there's definitely a slightly different crowd in New Plymouth, with guests tending to either be New Zealand residents, else visitors here for a long time. There are one or two people at the hostel who have just climbed the nearby Mount Taranaki. Although sorely tempted to head up there myself, I've just booked myself in for ten days of hiking on the South Island, and with so much to see and so little time, I may have to save it for my
next trip to New Zealand (which I'm already planning). Although it's a bit out of town, the hostel's lovely. Surrounded by trees, hydrangea and other flowers, there's also a little stream running by at the bottom of the lawn populated by eels, who have their own separate food scraps bucket in the kitchen. Apparently they're fond of meat and bread! There's also a slightly eccentric resident from Cornwall who, when not discussing the necessity of walking down every street in an ordered fashion on arrival in a new town, can be found writing his diaries on the back of Frosties packets.
Needing to stock up on fresh fruit and veg, one of the guys from the hostel gave me a lift down into town to the supermarket. I'm sure people around these parts are friendlier than other places I've been (must be the sea air...). Feeling shattered, I didn't join some others who were going to a free concert in the park, and despite spending most of the day asleep, I still had no problem getting an early night, and was sleeping again by eleven.
Day 67: Art in New Plymouth and Coastal Wanderings
Having walked
into town along the Huatoki walkway, a pretty footpath running alongside the stream into the 'city centre', the first stop today was the Govett-Brewster art gallery, featuring a range of exhibits including some aboriginal works, a film describing life in a local pub, and an installation by Len Lye (who I hadn't heard of before but apparently he's quite famous in the world of kinetic sculpture and installations). It was definitely worth a look round and was certainly quite far from the collection of local oil paintings that I'd been expecting!
Feeling the need for some fresh air, and with all the shops closed (the 2nd January is a public holiday in New Zealand), I walked along the coastal path towards the industrial port, passing a few swimming beaches and a large expanse of rock pools that had me nostalgically wishing I had a net and bucket! The views were lovely, with the path largely running along side an old railway track surrounded by foliage. In contrast, the port wasn't the most picturesque sight, but was a hub of activity with big crates being shifted on and off of vehicles. I walked back to the city for lunch, before
heading out on the coastal path in the opposite direction. The architecture in New Plymouth seems to be, on the whole, a bit more attractive than in some other city centres in New Zealand, with many of the buildings seeming older, rather than being the generic constructions of wood and steel that seemed all too common in the centres of Rotorua and Taupo. I keep having fleeting thoughts of how nice it would be to live here (maybe with a holiday home in Taupo...).
Walking in the other direction along the coastal path, I first past an enclosed area of lawn featuring a number of local, national and international sculptors, carving artworks out of huge slabs of rock, ready for the city's sculpture competition at the end of the month. It was great to see artists at work, and quite interesting to see what progress they had made when I passed them on my way back. Further along the very windy coastal path, I came across a load of windsurfers and kite surfers, all very skilled, they were all speeding along the waves, sometimes taking off a few feet into the air. Although not spectacular, the beaches were quite
pleasant and were a nice place to sit for a while and watch the watersports.
Back at the hostel, I ate my dinner out by the stream, and with the evening setting in, I walked a slightly roundabout route, arriving before sunset at Pukekura Park, which was hosting the annual two month festival of lights. With lovely foliage, flowers, and a Japanese garden, the park was pleasant enough by day, but as dusk set in, trees and plants were lit up blue, red, green and yellow, and there was a free concert drawing a cluster of geriatric locals to the music stage where one Rob Innes was crooning (I hadn't heard of him, but he does a lot of recognisable covers). Since I was on my own, I took the very long and tedious well-lit route back to the hostel, getting in quite late and waking up the rest of my dorm as I rummaged around in pitch darkness trying to find my bed, which I had buried under the contents of my backpack.
Day 68: Chaddy's Charters
After packing up and having breakfast, I again walked into town and then along the coastal path to the
port, where I had seen a sign for boat tours the day before. I got there just in time to join the half-past ten trip out to the Sugar Loaf Islands, a marine reserve and breeding ground for a huge range of sea birds, fish and seals. It was a slightly eccentric trip to say the least. Along with a few others, I took my lifejacket, and climbed aboard an old lifeboat, joining it's three-strong crew (one of the crew being a mongrel terrier). We launched out of the boat shed and into the bay. With the seas getting increasingly choppy as we headed out onto the open sea, everyone got a soaking, to the tune of 'What shall we do with a drunken sailor...' that was playing in the background. When I wasn't holding on for dear life, I was admiring the spectacular views from the boat, as we passed hundreds of birds diving into the sea and flying back to their nests on the islands. There was also a large colony of seals, basking on the rocks of the islands and paddling around in the shallower waters. The pups were very cute! It was certainly an interesting experience.
With the lovely weather still holding out, I soon dried off back on shore, from where I had to race back up the hill, have a spot of lunch at the hostel, and then head back down (again) into town with all my luggage, ready to catch the bus to Wanganui.
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