New Plymouth
Accommodation: Mon 10th Feb – Wed 12th Feb
Mon 10th Feb
It was a beautiful drive from Waitomo Caves down to New Plymouth with the last part of the drive being along the coastline. We found our King & Queen Suite boutique hotel accommodation easily but I had a momentary fright when I noticed a huge bedroom but without any windows. I thought I’d made a significant error of judgement here and couldn’t recall thinking this that would have been a good option. I was about to lament as much to Mark when he advised me ‘the bedroom was nice’ and I thought he’d gone mad. When I said ‘but there are no windows’ he then alerted me to the rest of the suite where I found a lovely bright master that opened out onto a huge terrace. We were in the King Henry 1 suite with all the suites named after various Kings or Queens. This place was rather luxurious and a welcome change from the rustic humble we’d had in Waitomo. Susan Scarf would definitely stay here!
It was 4 pm before we were game to venture out again because it was so hot and we headed to the coastal pathway. This is one of the main attractions of the area as the wide concrete path extends for 13.2 km along the coast. We wanted to do a good section of the this but it was just so hot we only managed to be out for about an hour. In fact, on the way home I was the one dragging Mark into a pub to get a thirst quenching ale. I looked at my phone and it said 23°. I found that so hard to believe because we were just melting. The sun is blisteringly hot here and it doesn’t set until 8:30 pm. Had I known it was going to be this hot down here, in this part of the world, I would’ve booked a hotel with a pool.
It was 6 pm by the time we ventured out again and we went downstairs to the restaurant complex (Asian and Italian) set within our hotel. We went to the Asian section and had a nice meal there before coming home for some time out on our lovely terrace as the sun set behind us. Our room faced west, towards the water, so the terrace was flooded with sunlight until quite late. Thankfully our room had heavy blockout curtains and air conditioning as both were needed.
Tue 11th Feb
It was another glorious morning and we were ever thankful for the excellent weather we had experienced since being in New Zealand. We didn’t dawdle though as we wanted to take another walk along the coastal path and so we set out early before the sun got too high.
We had a 2 hr walking tour at 10.15 am booked through the i-site visitor information centre.and this was very good. Our guide, Adrienne, was a retired school teacher and had a very deep knowledge of the history of the Maui settlement and European settlement in the region. She gave us a very comprehensive coverage of the complexities of all the historical and contemporary issues facing the indigenous and non-indigenous of the region. I would highly recommend you take this tour if you were ever in the region.
We had a quick lunch at the information centre at the end of our tour and then headed back to our hotel where we got ready to head out for another walk. It was a very hot day so we looked for a walk that wasn’t too long and was primarily in shade and settled on the Ratapihipihi Scenic Reserve Walk. It ticked the box of being a shady walk but was just an hour of walking through rather dense rainforest. We probably would have preferred one of the many other walks in the area but it was just too hot to be out in full sun for long.
It was only 3 pm by the time we got back to the hotel after this walk so Mark decided to go on a bike ride and I headed off to have a foot massage which was greatly appreciated.
Our dinner tonight was at Social kitchen, but we set off a bit earlier for Mark to have a beer at the Three Sisters Brewery. Social kitchen though was a fantastic venue for our dinner and it was a most interesting setting and, whilst we were the first there at 6 pm, the place was nearly full by 6.30 pm and they seemed to mostly locals. Our food was delicious and this is somewhere I would highly recommend if you’re ever in new Plymouth. In fact, if you look up ‘New Plymouth’ on Google it mentions that it’s a bit of a food hub and we did see lots of interesting looking restaurants around the town but, sadly, some that looked like they hadn’t survived Covid. However, Social Kitchen was one that clearly had survived and was thriving.
Wed 12th Feb
It was another glorious morning, and although we had a long drive ahead of us up to Tongariro National Park, we started the day with a cycle ride out to the Te Rewa Rewa bridge. The hotel had mountain bikes that you could borrow and so we took two of these for our ride. The ride was 5 km out and 5 back.
I’m quite proud to announce that I only had one major crash. I was cycling uphill and the gears had not engaged so the bike stopped and I went off the side, down an incline and landed with the bike on top of me. A very nice lady walking past came to my aid. When I said ‘oh don’t worry my husband‘s up there’, we both looked up to see Mark just standing there. At which point the lady went ‘hmph’, with a rather disapproving look in Marks direction, and continued to help me. Despite that drama, the cycle ride was lovely as the view along the way is spectacular and the Te Rewa Rewa bridge is a work of art and worth inspecting in its own right. I do suspect part of my problem was that the bike was too big. This is an activity I would highly recommend if you can find the right size bike.
We greatly enjoyed our time in New Plymouth, especially being on the coast with the lovely coastal walk to remind us of home. It’s not a must-see place for if you are ever in New Zealand, despite all the blogs I read suggesting it’s worth adding to your itinerary, but it is certainly entertaining enough for a day or two. Our hotel was great and I would highly recommend this for your accommodation.