Out West - Taranaki

The North Island's west coast isn't known as 'the west coast'—that name belongs to the South Island.  Instead each part of the coast has its own individual feel.  It is a diverse region with everything from caves to river trips; from remote harbours to vibrant cities; from hidden lakes to seaside settlements. 

            We began our exploration where SH 23 heads west from Hamilton to the Raglan Harbour.  Most famous for its surf breaks, Raglan has black sand on its ocean beaches.  The little settlement has a palm-lined main street and some funky cafes.  It is a very pretty spot.  We walked around Raglan's waterfront then took the car for a big loop drive along the cliffs that overlook the Tasman Sea and back via the Bridal Falls.  This waterfall is 55 metres high, with viewing platforms at the top and the bottom.  We scrambled right down to the pool that has formed below the waterfalls, trying to decide if the falls looked more dramatic from above or below.

Pirongia

Bridal Veil Falls

            Kawhia Harbour, south of Raglan, is an even quieter place.  We had hoped to spend longer exploring this area but got stuck for a while in a small car park in Pirongia.  Just as we drove into town there was an explosive bang.  Unsure what had happened, Malcolm pulled into the car parking area and we took a look.  One of Tangaroa's rear tyres had burst and another was flat.  This entailed phone calls to a garage, then the mechanic had to drive to Hamilton to get a replacement tyre.  Meanwhile we took the car for a look at Kawhia. 

            The tiny settlement nestles on the shores of the harbour.  We walked around looking at the wooden buildings and carved posts by the jetty.  Bow and stern stones on the waterfront marked the burial place of the Tainui canoe—Kawhia is where some Māori explorers settled after their arrival from Polynesia.  Interestingly there was a modern-day sailing waka moored off the marae.  We had a quick look in the museum by the wharf, then drove through Kawhia Forest to the dunes that border the ocean beach.  Like the more famous one on the Coromandel Peninsula, this is a hot water beach.  Locals were busy digging holes in the sand as the tide receded then sitting having a little soak.  We didn't have swimming togs with us but paddled in a couple of abandoned holes.

Tangaroa parked near Te Kuiti

            Back on the road again we found a lovely spot to park Tangaroa in the Mangaokewa Scenic Reserve at Te Kuiti.  There is a short walk here which we did one evening.  It went beside the stream and past a 'cascade' to a waterfall.  Neither of these were very dramatic but it was a pleasant walk. 

            The following day we took the car to the Waitomo area.  The Waitomo Caves are a well-known tourist attraction and, because it was several years since we had last visited, we thought we would take another look.  Waitomo is limestone country and it is riddled with caves.  The name Waitomo translates as 'water passing through a hole', though the Caves trip is somewhat grander than that implies.  The tour involved walking down to a cavern, where we joined a group of visitors aboard a boat.  Our guide jumped aboard and soon we were journeying through dark tunnels and chambers.  Stalactites hung down from ceilings that were illuminated by millions of glow-worms.  It was like looking up at a starry sky—the lapping of water creating a unique experience.  We were underground for about half an hour, then suddenly it was over and we emerged, blinking, into the daylight.

            We knew there were quite a lot of caves and associated features along the minor road that lead from Waitomo Caves to the coast, so we went to discover them.  The first we stopped at was Mangapohue Natural Bridge, a twenty-five minutes drive from Waitomo.  We found the 17-metre-high natural arch after walking along a boardwalk through a ferny gorge.  The arch was all that remained of an ancient cave system that would once have been like Waitomo.  A wooden staircase lead to a viewing platform, from where we could see stalactites on the underside of the bridge.  We popped out the exit at this higher level and marker posts showed us the way back, through farmland, to the car.  Limestone outcrops in the field were studded with fossilised oysters that dated back 25 million years. 

Mangapohue

            Further down the road was Piripiri cave.  A short bush walk brought us to the cave where steps led down inside.  It was quite a big cave, giving an idea of what Mangapohue would have looked like before its collapse.

                        Not far from the cave we spotted a sign for Marokopa Falls.  We had another short bush walk, through tawa and nīkau, to a viewing platform.  The Marokopa Falls have been described as the most beautiful in New Zealand.  Cascading from a height of 35 metres, they were certainly on a par with other lovely waterfalls we have seen—and certainly more spectacular than Te Kuiti's cascade of the previous evening. 

Marakopa Falls

                        Our next stop was Tongaporutu, where we freedom camped at the reserve.  One afternoon we walked along the beach to explore part of the White Cliffs Walkway.  The section we walked was beautiful and dramatic, starring coastal stacks known as the Three Sisters—although there are now only two of them.  Years ago, apparently, there were four but the sea has gradually claimed the first two.  There are other rock formations on the beach—beside the sisters is a stack sometimes called The Cousin, and nearby is Elephant Rock.  Elephant Rock has arches and fissures so really looks as if it has legs and a trunk.  The sea is working on the cliffs that border the beach and they are studded with caves.

Coastal scenery at Tongapurutu

                        New Plymouth was next on our itinerary.  The city sits at the north of the almost circular projection of land that surrounds Mt Taranaki.  This mountain is a cone shaped volcanic peak, 2,518 metres high.  Māori legend tells how Mt Taranaki used to live beside the volcanic peaks of the central plateau.  Mt Taranaki and Mt Tongariro fought over the beautiful Mt Pihanga.  Mt Taranaki was defeated and escaped to the west, coming to rest where he sits today.  Captain Cook and the crew of the Endeavour were the first Europeans to see the mountain, which Cook named in honour of the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Earl of Egmont.  Until 1986 the mountain was known as Mt Egmont, then its name was officially recorded as both Mt Egmont and Taranaki.  Mt Taranaki is becoming the more widely-used name.

                        We squeezed Tangaroa into a spot beside other freedom campers at New Plymouth's Huatoki Reserve.  From here there was a walkway into the city, following the Huatoki Stream.  The walk took about an hour and a half—a green corridor passing through suburbs and terminating beside Len Lye's Wind Wand.  This 48-metre-tall kinetic sculpture is almost as much of a New Plymouth icon as Mt Taranaki is.  Nearby, the new wing of the Govett-Brewster Gallery is named the Len Lye Centre.  It is housed behind a rippling wall of mirror-like stainless steel and is dedicated to Lye's works.  We were keen to visit  the Centre and weren't disappointed, the kinetic works were fascinating. 

At the Len Lye Centre

                        Another day we cycled the Coastal Walkway.  This 12-kilometre stretch of promenade goes from Ngamotu Beach, along past the centre of New Plymouth and finishes at Bell Block beach.  It was a lovely ride with probably the most impressive feature being Te Rewa Rewa Bridge.  It looks like a combination of a whale skeleton and a breaking wave and—when it is not wreathed in cloud—it frames Mt Taranaki.

                        There is plenty of walking to do in the area too.  Pukekura Park is close to the city centre.  Opened in 1876, the park covers 52 hectares of lakes, formal gardens, specimen trees, trails in native bush—and a zoo.  We spent several hours walking around and even then missed some parts!  After morning tea at the Edwardian looking Tea House on the Lake, we found the oldest pūriri tree in the country (2,000 years old) but missed The Gables, the oldest hospital still standing in New Zealand.  It was built in 1848 and moved to its present site in 1904.

Pukekura Park

                        For something different we took the road around the mountain to Dawson Falls Visitors Centre in Egmont National Park.  The park's bush clad slopes were a sudden surprise after the rolling pastoral countryside. The road climbed gradually to 900 metres above sea level at the Visitors Centre.  Several walks began here and we chose two of the shorter ones, the Kapuni Loop Track, which passes the Dawson Falls, and the Wilkies Pool Track.  Both these loop walks pass through what the locals call 'goblin forest' because of the moss-covered gnarled trees.  The Dawson Falls are 18 metres in height and were named after Thomas Dawson, the first European to discover them.  Māori named them Te Rere o Noke (Noke's Falls), commemorating a warrior who evaded his pursuers by hiding behind them.

Mount Taranaki

The Visitor Centre

Dawson Falls

            Eventually we headed south—following the 'surf highway', SH 45, around the edge of the coast to Hawera, where we stayed at the NZMCA park.  Just outside Hawera at Tawhiti is what has been described as New Zealand's most innovative museum.  Ex art teacher, Nigel Ogle, has created a series of realistic displays with life-sized figures created from moulds of real people.  The smaller scale dioramas are also extremely realistic — no two models are the same. 

At the Tawhiti Museum

Sealers and Whalers

One of the detailed dioramas

In the tractor shed

Since our previous visit the museum has been enlarged and this time we took in the Traders and Whalers attraction.  This involves a boat ride through a river environment, lit only by candles and lanterns, where scenes from the early 1800s are enacted—complete with dialogue and gun battles.  After this we perused the Farm Power Hall, which is a magnet for those interested in vintage tractors and farm machinery.  Ogle has added his own trademark touches with the lifelike characters who are displayed interacting with the exhibits.  This museum is really a place where the visitor can spend hours—at least half a day—and we did.

            We completed our tour of this part of the North Island's west at Lake Rotorangi.  This 46-kilometre-long serpentine lake is the longest man-made lake in the country, formed in 1984 when the Patea River was dammed.  The flooded valley is fed by springs and has become a protected area of natural beauty.  The hard part is getting there.  The road through the mountains twisted down around hairpin bends, over a narrow bridge and then along 11 kilometres of rough, unsealed track.  It was worth the white-knuckled drive though, the lakeside by the dam was beautiful and we had it all to ourselves.  Across the dam we discovered a 45-minute loop track through lowland beech forest, with views out across the lake.  There was a deserted campground here and we really felt like the only people in the world.  Eating breakfast with mist curling up from the still waters of the lake, with birds the only sign of life, was truly magical.

Tangaroa at lake Rotorangi

Information about places mentioned in this post - correct at time of writing

Walks

• ·         Bridal Veils Falls

www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/waikato/places/raglan-area/tracks/waireinga-bridal-veil-falls/

20 min, one way, easiest: short walk

Access: Kawhia Rd, Makomako

• ·         Mangapohue Natural Bridge

www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/waikato/places/waitomo-area/tracks/mangapohue-natural-bridge-walk

700 m loop, 20 min, easiest: short walk

Access: Te Anga Rd, Te Anga

• ·         Piripiri Cave

www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/waikato/places/waitomo-area/tracks/mangapohue-natural-bridge-walk

300 m, 5 min, easiest: short walk

Access: Te Anga Rd, Te Anga

• ·         Marokopa Falls Walk

www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/waikato/places/waitomo-area/tracks/marokopa-falls-walk

600 m return, 20 min, easiest: short walk

Access; Te Anga Rd, Te Anga

• ·         New Plymouth Coastal Walkway

www.newplymouthnz.com/Residents/Attractions-and-Recreation/Coastal-Walkway

Access: at various points, 13 km, easy (walk or cycle)

• ·         Lake Rotorangi

https://visit.taranaki.info/visit/see-and-do/lake-rotorangi-walkway.aspx

1.4 km, 40 min, easy

Access: Rotorangi Rd, off Maben Rd

• ·         Walks from Dawson Falls Visitors Centre

http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/wanganui/dawson-falls-east-egmont-brochure-and-map.PDF

Dawson Falls Walk:  10 min 1 way, easy

Kapuni Loop Track:  1 hr round trip, easy

Wilkies Pool Track:  1.hr 20 min round trip, easy

Access: Manaia Rd, Egmont National Park

Hours: 9.00 am-4.00 pm

Places to visit

• ·         Kawhia Museum

Omimiti Reserve, Kawhia

Hours: 11.00 am-4.00 pm Sundays and public holidays in summer, weekends

11.00 am-4.00 pm in winter,

Entry : free

• ·         Waitomo Glowworm Caves

Waitomo Village Rd, Waitomo

www.waitomocaves.com

Hours: 8.30 am-5.30 pm summer, 9.00 am-5.00 pm winter

Entry price: adult $51, child $23.50

• ·         Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Len Lye Centre

42, Queen St, New Plymouth

www.govettbrewster.com/len-lye/centre

Hours: 10.00 am-4.00 pm

Entry: free

• ·         Pukekura Park

10, Fillis St, Brooklands, New Plymouth

www.pukekura.org.nz

• ·         Tawhiti Museum

410, Ohangai Rd, Hawera

www.tawhitimuseum.co.nz

Hours: Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10.00 am-4.00 pm, summer (Boxing Day-end January) open every day, winter (June, July, August) Sundays only

Entry price: Museum, adult $15, child $5; Traders and Whalers, adult $15, child $5