The city of New Plymouth is a bit off the beaten tourist track, but it shouldn't be. They have fine free museums, many beaches for surfing and swimming, views of Mount Taranaki and her sister volcanoes, a vibrant downtown with many fine restaurants and shops, and a fairly significant place in both Maori and European settler history.
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| Some of the buildings have been painted by local artists |
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Captain James Cook introduced pigs to NZ. They quickly went feral, and
became known as Captain Cookers. |
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| Still haven't seen a live Kiwi. Odd bird, isn't it? |
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The Giant Moa, now extinct. The old guy on
the left looks like he's about ready to go, too. |
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The oldest stone church in NZ. Many of the soldiers who died in the
wars with the Maori are buried here. |
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| The interior was beautiful, especially the wooden roof |
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| We hiked up Paritutu Rock, the 500 foot tall remnant core of a volcano |
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| View of Mount Taranaki from the top ... |
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| ... as well as the power station ... |
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| ... and the port |
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We were even treated to a bit of an air show as these four planes flew
aerial acrobatics in tight formation |
We got fish and chips at a local joint and took them back to our campground to eat, with a few bottles of beers to wash it down. Quite fine.
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