New Plymouth is a great kiwi town on the central-western coast of the North Island. We've noticed it posted on a few lists as one of the top towns in NZ, for different reasons, so we thought it would be fun to check it out! You are welcomed into the area near New Plymouth with a beautiful view of the stunning Mt. Taranaki.
We set up camp at a holiday park in town, right in the middle of a neighborhood! It's funny how you'll find those spots hidden almost anywhere, but when you are in the park you really don't notice anything outside. The park wasn't busy, and they allowed us to use two spots for the price of one…one for our tent, the other for Big Red and the trailer:
We were right next to the community kitchen, with the playground/pool on the other side. Since the park was nearly empty, we essentially had the place to ourselves. It was wonderful.
I took these photos the morning after we arrived. The previous evening, we pulled in at about 7pm, and the kids swam in the pool while we got the tent set up. We were all starving, and there was no way we were going to be able to talk our kids (um, ourselves) into eating sandwiches again, so we went for take-out. We came back to our "kitchen" and covered the table with our loot -- fish and chips, samosas, chicken tikka masala, and chinese noodles. It was quite the spread, and we all ate way too much but slept like babies.
The highlight of our visit to New Plymouth was our stop at Pukekura Park. We went there as almost an afterthought, on our way out of town. Since we were looking at another 3-hour drive (and since we were trying to make it back in time to prepare some food for the Christmas party at church that evening), we didn't even get our youngest three kids dressed out of their jammies. What slacker parents we are. :) If I'd have known I'd be taking dozens of pics at the park, I would have taken the extra few minutes to put clothes on the kids. Oh well.
Right at this entrance to the park is a huge, impeccably landscaped cricket pitch, with grassy terraced seating. It sort of reminded us of ancient ruins or something! The kids had fun climbing on the different levels:
Those flip-flop straps proved to be a bit pesky for Luke...
…so he felt the need to throw a quick little tantrum over it.
Oh brother. He recovered quickly.
We rounded the corner to the gardens entrance of the park…one of most peaceful and beautiful places we've seen.
We continued on the path to one of the coolest playgrounds ever! The kids were in heaven.
I love swinging. Swinging's my favorite.
After leaving the play area, the path took us past this water wheel…
…then to this amazing, fun, colorful corridor! We read that the park had recently celebrated 75 years, and this section was created in honor of that milestone. It was so delightful.
It was a treat to visit New Plymouth, and especially Pukekura Park.
The three hour drive home went smoothly. It amazed us to note just how long we were able to see Mt. Taranaki, from different directions and very long distances! Any time the twins acted up, we'd say, "Luke and Landon, where's the volcano?" It worked like a charm.
We covered a lot of ground in that quick little roadie…we've now been to most of the areas we hoped to see on the North Island (with the exception of the Northland area {north of Auckland}, which is on the calendar for March). I'm so grateful for all we have been able to see and do in this beautiful country. Viva Aotearoa!
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