Vanished Worlds and Worlds that Never Were

Malcolm at Earthquakes

Not far from Duntroon in North Otago there are earthquakes—marked on the map!  'Earthquakes geological formations' it says.  I thought the formations must have been caused by earthquakes, hence the name, and the original settlers thought that too.  But visitors to the site can read an information board which explains that thousands of years ago a landslide caused some land to slump, leaving cracked limestone cliffs.  Huge blocks have fallen from the cliffs giving the impression they have been shaken loose.  The reason we were visiting the Earthquakes site was not to see the impressive formations though.  We went  to marvel at the fossils, for who would guess that there would be a fossilised whale skeleton in this pastoral valley, kilometres from the sea?

            We had visited the Vanished World Centre at Duntroon where, apart from being amazed by the sight of the cast of a shark-toothed dolphin, we learned that twenty five million years ago the land around Duntroon was the ocean floor.  Extinct marine life including whales and dolphins left their bones there, and over time they formed the fossils that are found in the rocks today.  Picking up the Vanished World trail guide, that lists the sites of interest in the Waitaki Valley and North Otago Coast, we set off to explore.

            At Earthquakes we discovered the fossil remains of a baleen whale.  Of course it had been exposed and excavated some time before, but hadn't been removed to a museum.  It was there where it had been found, protected by a steel cage.  We could make out the ribs and vertebrae (ignoring the small white sheep bones some joker had squeezed through the bars) and read that it was found when the broken ends of its lower jaw were seen protruding from the rock.  Its head was facing out, as if it was swimming from the rock, and would have been around six metres long.

            Our next stop was close by at Anatini where, in rocky outcrop in a small valley, we found another baleen whale fossil—this one protected by a perspex cover.  These ancient whales are distantly related to present day whales such as minke whales.  Between eight and ten metres in length, the Anatini whale was larger than the Earthquakes whale, and it retained part of its skull and lower jaw, its scapula and several ribs.  The reason the skeletons are so complete is because they were buried by sand in gently moving, relatively shallow waters.  The sediments gradually formed into limestone and the seabed was uplifted in the last few million years.  Over time erosion began to expose the bones.

Elephant Rocks

            Elephant Rocks were next.  No animals here—instead a rolling paddock inhabited by massive outcrops of yellowish limestone.  The weird and wonderful shapes are mysterious in their hugeness.  Rock climbers like to practice their 'bouldering' techniques on them and movie-makers love the quirky sculptured rocks —they were the setting of scenes in the film The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

            There are 20 sites on the Vanished World route.  We looked at a cluster near Duntroon before moving Tangaroa to the coast, south of Oamaru.  All Day Bay was a beautiful spot to spend all day visiting.  It also had mudstone with fossil molluscs.  Not as exciting as whales maybe but a great excuse to fossick around the shore.  Just north of All Day Bay was Campbells Bay, popular with surfers and revealing 30 million-year-old shrimp burrows.  Just north again was Kakanui North Head, where low tide revealed dark, mineral-containing rocks.  The trail guide listed Coast Restaurant as the next site, where views from the old quarry should show spectacular cliffs.  We couldn't find the old quarry, but can recommend the coffee and cake at the Coast Restaurant.

All Day Bay

            Oamaru and the surrounding area is steeped in history as well as geology.  White Oamaru limestone was used to build many of the grand old buildings in the town and nearby countryside.  Just south of Oamaru on SH 1 we came across the limestone buildings of Totara Estate.  Restored by Heritage New Zealand, these historic farm buildings are important not only because of their age, but more importantly because it was here that New Zealand's frozen meat industry was pioneered.  We were surprised to find out that before lamb was frozen for export, wool was the only sheep product that could be used—the sheep's carcasses were dumped as waste. 

            And it was a waste, one that appalled William Davidson, manager of the local runs of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company.   In the early 1880s a slaughterhouse was added to the twenty-year old farm buildings on the Totara Estate, where 300-400 sheep could be dispatched each day.  This was done because the sailing ship Dunedin had been fitted with a freezing plant and these early entrepreneurs saw the potential of frozen meat as an export.  The first ship-load left for London in 1882, arriving in perfect condition and thus starting one of the country's major export industries.

            We learned all this and more as we explored the farm buildings which include stables, granary, workshop and the men's accommodation block.  On certain days visitors to Totara Estate can enjoy 'billy tea' with a group of swaggers from the past including the interestingly-named 'Shiner' Slattery and 'Whiterats' Winters, though unfortunately we didn't get chance to yarn with these characters on our visit.  Back in Oamaru itself we wandered along the old wharf.  Once a scene of bustling activity as meat, dairy products and other exports were loaded onto ships, now it is a quiet place for an evening stroll, home to a few fishing boats.

Oamaru Wharf

            Oamaru’s Thames Street is a gem of Victorian architecture, full of listed buildings.  The town flourished from the 1880s, after the frozen meat trade took off, and the magnificent buildings gave us an idea of what the Victorian town would have looked like.  The Waitaki District Council building was formerly the post office, built in 1883.  The bank of New South Wales, second of the two iconic bank buildings (sometimes called the temples from Athens) was built in the same year.  Its neighbour, now the National Bank, was built in 1871.  Across the road is the magnificent Opera House built in 1907 and restored in 2010.  On the corner is the Criterion Hotel, built in 1877 when it was the known to be the best hotel in town—it had baths!  The Criterion became the 'pub with no beer' in 1906 when the sale of alcohol was banned in Oamaru.  Luckily alcohol is flowing at the Criterion again and it has had been returned to its former glory by the Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust.

The Criterion

            We celebrated New Year's Eve at the Criterion Hotel and, as we left, were startled by a little blue penguin standing beside our car looking as if he'd like a lift home.  Oamaru is famous for its penguins, they pop up all over town as their burrows are a little inland from the beach.  Earlier we had driven to a cliff-top lookout where we saw some yellow-eyed penguins emerge from the water and waddle up the beach for the night.  We saw many more penguins at the Blue Penguin Colony show, where at dusk around one hundred adults returned from the sea and made their way to burrows where they were ambushed by impatient chicks.  Sodium lights make all this visible to human watchers while the penguins think they have the privacy of darkness.  It is a spectacle not to be missed.

            The Criterion is at the edge of the Historic Precinct, an area of town where you could be forgiven for thinking you had slipped through a time warp.  Here the streets are lined with shops, bakeries, a wine bar, cafes, a wool-store complex and much more.  These elegant Victorian buildings are brought to life by the people who own and staff them and who often dress up in period costume.  Expect to see penny-farthing bicycles propped outside the bike shop.

            In front of the former Meeks Grain Elevator Building a steam engine with strange sculptural additions reared skywards.  This is where history meets the past as it never was—steampunk.  Some of the people who enjoy acting the part in the Historic Precinct are also involved with the steampunk scene, sometimes called 'the future as it might have been'.  Oamaru is New Zealand's 'Steampunk Headquarters'  and visitors from the rest of New Zealand come to discover what it is all about, or to attend the annual Steampunk NZ Festival.  This event showcases steampunk fashions, jewellery, literature, art and music.  Malcolm and I have been involved with some of the steampunk events in Whangarei, which were a lot of fun, so we were fascinated to explore further.

            On the side of the HQ building we spotted sculptural structures made from metallic industrial components, which have been transformed into such things as giant flies.  Inside is a strange otherworld of darkened rooms containing weird contraptions, with accompanying sounds and periodic emissions of steam.  History as it never was.

Steampunk fun

            Leaving Oamaru we moved further south.  Continuing in the geological vein we visited the Moeraki Boulders and found some other, less well-known formations nearby.  We walked along Moeraki beach looking at the giant spheres and feeling that the ones we visited 'up north' in the Hokianga were more dramatic. 

Moeraki Boulders

            Just past the Moeraki Boulders there was a turn for the township of Moeraki, once the location of a whaling station but now a sleepy fishing village.  Apt that its name translates to sleepy sky in Māori.  Moeraki is also well known for the restaurant Fleur's Place, run by chef Fleur Sullivan.  She was happy to chat to people (like us) beach-combing and taking photographs around the area outside the restaurant. 

Near Fleur's Place

            The area around Moeraki township was well worth investigating.   There were no through roads; most of these 'no exit' roads lead to clusters of old cribs, huddled beside ruggedly picturesque beaches.  We followed Lighthouse Road to Katiki Point Historic Reserve.  Of course there was a lighthouse here, built in 1878.

            A walk went from the lighthouse to the old pā site at Katiki point.  The pā was occupied in the eighteenth century—it had terraces and houses with stone fireplaces.  Now the land is home only to wildlife.  We set off to walk to the headland but the first attraction was the penguin hide.  This was a short walk downhill, following a formed track.  The area is known to be the most significant breeding site for yellow-eyed penguins in the South Island, and the wooden structure allowed the penguins to be observed in their natural habitat.  The best times for viewing are before 9.00 am and after 3.00 pm, as the adults leave their chicks for the ocean each morning, returning in the evening.

Katiki Point

            Since we were there a little before 3.00 pm, we decided to look at the colony of fur seals, basking on the rocky beach below.  Then, as we made our way back up the track, we were surprised to see two yellow-eyed penguins standing behind the predator-proof fence looking out at us.  As we watched, they waddled off deeper into their bush habitat. 

            The headland walk passed alongside the top of the penguin reserve and below the lighthouse.  The lighthouse keeper's house is run by the Katiki Point Penguin Trust as a rehabilitation centre for injured or sick penguins.  Over a stile, the walk continued across grassland and rocky shores to the headland, where there were great views and a variety of birdlife.  Gulls were using the wind to soar around the cliffs, while a solitary yellow-eyed penguin rested on the grass. 

            Fur seals were playing in the water on the south side of the headland while others lay sunning themselves on rocks or, oblivious to us walkers, on the grass beside the track.  We needed to keep our eyes peeled, as it was quite a shock to come upon them—they are big creatures who can give nasty bites if disturbed.  The area is the main breeding grounds for fur seals in the area— they obviously consider it their home and enjoy just hanging out and relaxing.  In the early 1800s there were sealers based here, now the seals are protected and their numbers growing.

            We freedom camped at Back Creek, a little further along SH 1, in one of several areas between the beach and the road south of Katiki Point.  The day after our surprise encounters with yellow-eyed penguins and fur seals, we walked along Katiki Beach, which can be seen from Katiki Point but can only be accessed from SH 1.  The attraction here was not wildlife, but boulders.  Like Moeraki Beach, Katiki Beach is home to spherical boulders called concretions.  Unlike the Moeraki Boulders, and most of the Koutu Boulders in Hokianga, the ones on this beach were hollowed-out spheres,  They looked for all the world like a series of rustic spa pools.

            Māori legends explain the boulders are the remains of kumara and calabashes washed ashore from a wrecked sailing canoe, the Arai-te-uru, whose remains form the reef extending seaward from Shag Point.  Other theories have been formulated since the boulders were first described by Europeans in the 1840s, one of which was that the boulders were dragons eggs.  This was  because many of the large boulders are hollowed out by erosion and do look like giant egg shells.  A surprising link with this myth, and unique to the boulders here, is that a dinosaur has been found inside one!

            The seven metre-long fossil plesiosaur was discovered in 1983 by Gary Raper, an amateur fossil collector.  It was named Kaiwhekea Katiki  by Professor Ewan Fordyce from the University of Otago’s Geology Department.  Around 69-70 million years ago, the dinosaur died and its body settled on the ocean floor, where a large concretion formed around it.  When its fossilised remains were removed from the boulder it was found to be the most complete specimen ever discovered in New Zealand.  We later saw Kaiwhekea Katiki in Otago Museum in Dunedin.

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

Walks

• ·         Katiki Point Historic Reserve

www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/otago/places/moeraki-area/katiki-point/

2 km return, 1 hr, easy, (to see the penguins 10 min one way, easy)

Access: Lighthouse Rd, Moeraki

Places to visit

• ·         Oamaru Steampunk HQ

1, Itchen St, Oamaru

http://steampunkoamaru.co.nz

Hours: 10.00 am-5.00 pm daily

Entry price: adult $10, child $2

• ·         Blue Penguin Colony

Waterfront Rd, South Hill, Oamaru

https://www.penguins.co.nz/

Evening viewing hours vary, seasonal

Entry price: evening viewing, adult $30, senior and student $27, child $15

• ·         Vanished World Centre

7, Campbell St, Duntroon

www.vanishedworld.co.nz

Hours: 9.30 am-5.00 pm

• ·         Earthquakes Geological Area

Earthquakes Rd, Duntroon

www.waitakinz.com/products/what-to-do/earthquakes

• ·         Elephant Rocks

Island Cliff-Duntroon Rd, Duntroon

www.waitakinz.com/explore/elephant-rocks

• ·         Anatini

Island Cliff-Duntroon Rd, Island Cliff (about 1 km from Elephant Rocks)

• ·         Totara Estate

SH 1, Oamaru

www.heritage.org.nz/places/places-to-visit/otago-region/totara-estate

Hours: September-May 10.00 am-4.00 pm, closed June-August

Entry price: adult $10, student $5

• ·         Moeraki Boulders

Koekohe Beach, Moeraki Boulders Rd, Moeraki

www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/otago/places/moeraki-area/things-to-do/moeraki-boulders-walk

• ·         Otago Museum

419, Great King St, North Dunedin

http://otagomuseum.nz

Hours: I0.00 am-5.00 pm

Admission: free

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