it’s a three day weekend so we’re off to new plymouth to see some more of nz and hopefully go for a tramp on mt taranaki.
as we passed though hawera (home of nz’s largest private collection of elvis memorabilia) we got our first view of our final destination – mt taranaki.
next small town down the road is manaia. the framingham post office looks a bit bland in comparison to the manaia post. you can see the royal cypher of king george v at the top of the building. with his reign from 1910 to 1936 his mark is on all the great art deco works. the build on the right is a small hotel & pub.
we were traveling on state highway 45, known as “the surf highway” as it has easy access to many great surfing spots.
we had expected the road to travel right along the coast similar but realized after a bit that we were always a few k’s from ocean and were frequently passing small country roads that snaked off to the shoreline. we picked one just as it was starting to get dark.
it’s hard to tell from this photo, but the road ends at a cliff with the ocean crashing onto the rocks several hundred feet below. no fence or barrier.
looking back from the shore we had some great views of the mountain.
after arriving at our motel in new plymouth we took a walk into the cbd. lots of great architecture including a movie house with a neon marquee.
the jboss has done some homework and had a list of potential places for dinner. but it’s never that easy. antony left the map back at the motel so we wondering around a bit looking for choice #1. can’t seem to find it. choice #1 is out of business and is now something else. on to choice #2. much harder to find and after asking some folks on the street, and then again at gas station we find it. we review the menu posted outside. looks good, but a bit expensive. we finally decide to splurge a bit and head in. sorry – all booked for the evening. can someone explain why they watched us noodle over the menu for several minutes knowing they were full? most of the other places were either packed or spookily empty with the owner looking at you hopefully as your pause outside. we ultimately decide on a pub.
turned out to be a fine choice. the finals for the super 14 rugby season were on and soon after we arrived the place filled up nicely. the food was just ok, but the beer was fine and it’s hard to beat the neighborhood pub atmosphere.
the shots below are from our drive home, once again along sh 45.
