Out and About in New Plymouth

It was a morning of nostalgia for Robin, checking out his old family home and the Primary, Intermediate and High Schools he attended back in the day.  New Plymouth has rather steep hills and as boys, groups of them would race their trollies down these slopes, without a care in the world – no thoughts of danger back then.  Then there was the sea water swimming pool – hours of training took place in the mornings before school.  We stopped to have a look at Paritutu Rock which is a volcanic remnant, a part of the nearby Sugar Loaf Islands, all eroded stumps of an ancient volcanic crater.  As a scout, Robin and some mates not only did the challenging climb to the top, but stayed overnight in a tent.

Paritutu Rock

Captain Cook named the seven small offshore islands after the lumps of sugar loaf he put in his tea, but the white sugar you can see is actually bird guano.

Looking down at a couple of sugar lumps

Close by is the Pioneer Memorial, marking the locality where the pioneer settlers landed in 1841-43, carried across on eight vessels.

Pioneer Memorial

Another intriguing memorial we stumbled across was the Fitzroy Pole, “Pou Tutaki”.  The original carved boundary post, known as Fitzroy Pole, was  erected in 1848 by the Te Ātiawa chief Te Waitere Katatore, marking the boundary beyond which no European was to settle.  This replacement Fitzroy pole was erected to mark New Zealand’s centennial in 1940.

The Fitzroy Pole

Early mornings are often the best time to catch a glimpse of Mt Egmont without too many clouds obscuring the view.  Also known as Mount Taranaki, it  is New Zealand's most perfectly formed volcano. The mountain is around 120,000 years old and last erupted in 1775 and volcanologists agree that the mountain is 'dormant' rather than extinct.

Mt Egmont

We went for a short walk around the beautiful Pukekura Park today.  The park covers 52ha (128 acres) right in the heart of the city and is one of New Zealand's premier botanical garden.  The lake is so beautiful and serene, surrounded by native trees and lush ferns, and with plenty of exotic flowering trees and shrubs too.  We could see people away in the distance crossing over the footbridge, swans were swimming lazily by, a delightful place indeed.

Looking over the lake

The Band Rotunda has been a major feature of the park since 1887.  I loved the old photo on the information board showing the Band Rotunda and the nearby monument to Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, with views of the lake and Mt Egmont in the background.

Our last evening was spent catching up with Robin’s old school mate Gary and his lovely wife Glennis, who invited us around for a delicious home cooked meal.  Robin and Gary go back a long way, so there was plenty to talk about, even though we had seen them when they stopped off at Levin recently.  It’s always nice to catch up with old friends.  We are moving on tomorrow – next stop Hawera.