After doing our epic tramp in Tongariro National Park, we headed to the town of New Plymouth to WWOOF for just a few days. We found many cool things to do there, including hike up another mountain, see a Festival of Lights, and camp ON THE BEACH!
Our host, Jo, was an artist with a love for tinsel around the holidays! Her home was eccentric with art on every centimeter of the walls. It was very cool seeing her creations as well as getting a feel for the Taranaki art community. She even helped set up a local gallery a few years back!
Pig, the dog, became our close buddy in a few short days. Who couldn't love that face?
New Plymouth had a cool hiking spot called Paritutu Rock, which we climbed. The rock is directly over the ocean and has steep, uneven terrain to get up it, but the views from the top are amazing!
Taranaki was having its bi-annual Festival of Lights while we were in town. We headed into Pukekura Park one night to check it out. This is the entry to the Fernery...tripppppy.
Our last night WWOOFing, our host, Jo, took us out to her favorite camping spot in Oakura.
Once we left Jo, we were on our own for a couple days. First stop was Pukeiti, a botanical garden with extensive grounds.
Egmont National Park is where we tramped around Mount Taranaki. This year round snow-capped mountain is visible from every angle around the Taranaki region.
This gem of a photo is a clear insight into what I'll be like as an 80 year old.
In the eastern part of the park, we went on a loop trail to Dawson Falls through a goblin forest! All the lichen hangs off the trees to produce a nice spooky atmosphere. It had a visible effect on us.
Although visiting Taranaki was a bit unexpected on our roadtrip, it ended up being a pretty fulfilling stop!
