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Just back from a road trip around the Taranaki region aboard the spacewagon!
Once again we set off after work on Friday eve and headed for a town called Taumarunui, where we set up camp before the start of the Forgotten World Highway.
This is a 150km highway, originally built to connect small mining towns to the rest of NZ, however now it's just a tourist drive since the miners packed up, leaving behind them almost deserted townships. It was full of random little stop-offs and breath taking views; including two waterfalls, a single lane tunnel, a gorgeous gorge and a town of 70 people that has been declared it's own Republic. It also offered the most amazing views of Mt. Ruapehu, Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom) and of course the magical Mt Taranaki (as seen in 'The Last Samurai'). The drive was expected to take 3 hrs but after a fun packed 6 hrs we weren't so disappointed about having missed the 3pm chime of Stratford's 'Romeo and Juliet' Glockenspiel (clock)!?
By the time we reached this Shakespeare inspired town, Mt Taranaki dominated the whole landscape and was totally mesmerising, especially when we reached the end of the road at its base and as luck would have it, our third waterfall of the day!
Whilst descending from here we were required to adjust our itinerary and get straight on 'The Surfing Highway' without a map. The Surfing Highway is advertised as; drive along this highway and whilst looking to your left you can see the Tasman Sea, but look to your right and it's Mt Taranaki. A beautiful image? Well not for us as clouds had the mountain hidden away and you had to squint to see the sea!!
We only made one stop along this stretch of road; for a quick map-less visit (after a few wrong turns) to the cast iron lighthouse at Cape Egmont.
After a long day driving we were pleased to be able to relax (and of course BBQ) at our beachfront campsite, just outside New Plymouth, with views of the Sugar Loaf Islands (a seal marine reserve) and across the Tasman Sea. It was all about location at this campsite, as the facilities were nothing (or nothing pleasant anyway) to write home about!
Sunday morning we awoke to the sound of the sea, had breakfast and set off for New Plymouth. Ro was slightly disappointed that we hadn't moved here until she realised the rainfall levels! It was a picturesque small city on the beach with Mt. Taranaki as the backdrop. We strolled around, taking in the sights (Wind Wand) and drove alongside the coastal walkway before visiting the Pukekura Park for a leisurely late morning stroll.
We were homeward bound from there and after one significant wrong turn (heading in the totally opposite direction to Raglan) we only stopped once, at the White (more of a greyish brown) Cliffs! The 4 hour drive home had plenty more of New Zealand's stunning scenery to disappoint us that the weekend was coming to an end...
PS - We're up to number 9 on the waterfall count!
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