New Plymouth

This is my very first time in New Plymouth, Taranaki, and I loved it immediately. It is full of unique things, like this doggy poo container. From the outset I found everyone friendly, helpful and very relaxed. Added to that, the scenery around here is sensational, with Mount Egmont, Taranaki Maunga, 2518metres in height, in the centre. It is an awesome view as you fly in, to see this dormant volcano with snow covering its peak, as the plane descends to the airport close by.

My first visit was to Pukekura Park, situated in the heart of the city. What an introduction to New Plymouth, what a place! The park and gardens are huge, dwarfing our incredible Botanical Gardens in Christchurch.

You could easily spend most of the day there, Lakes, streams, native forests, rhododendon dells and ferneries are just some of its incredible attractions.

I thoroughly enjoyed strolling beside the stream, with the dappled light casting wonderful shadows onto the tanniny water.

The ferns alongside the stream were shaped like music notes, and the air was filled with birdsong, particularly from the many tuis there.

Adorning the lake shore were clumps of brightly-coloured red hot pokers and in the dell was the most amazing collection of massive native trees. What magnificent giants they are, possibly hundreds of years old.

After a very interesting chat with a rather lonely and depressed old lady, my final visit was to The Fernery and Display house. It was absolutely fantastic. It had many so different sections but the final tropical area with dozens of spectacular orchids was the most memorable. 

I finished the afternoon off with a walk through the lovely Te Henui cemetery . This vast, sprawling cemetery is the oldest in NP and is like a huge, colourful garden. It is very well cared for and the majority of the family graves have flowers planted on them and trees around them. At the top of the hill there are graves for soldiers killed in World Wars. It is a very sad sight in this otherwise gloriously beautiful and tranquil  place.

On my final day in New Plymouth I drove over to Paritutu Centennial park . Unfortunately, although  my first three days were sunny and warm, there were gale force winds on the last day, despite being sunny, so garden visits and walks were not so easy.  I couldn't walk around the park here for fear of being blown off the cliff!
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Actually, as I was visiting the first garden in the morning, a large tree had just blown down, completely uprooted by the wind. This certainly put me off any gardens with tall trees, and in fact, quite a few had closed because it was simply too dangerous to visit. What a pity! 
The last garden I visited was Korito permaculture garden in the suburbs. Here the owners are educating visitors on self sufficiency. The owner is originally from North Wales and has done an incredible job creating this amazingly fertile garden out of nothing. She has herbs, strawberries and vegetables growing everywhere, and has so many brilliant ideas for building planter boxes, beds and even stairs. It was my final garden for now, and yet probably the most inspirational.
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I have two other blogs covering my fantastic days visiting other parts of Taranaki and other areas of New Plymouth.