Oh, The Places You'll Go- New Plymouth
Today's blog post is another instalment of the Oh The Places You'll Go series where I talk about trips and adventures I go on and recommend some things to see, places to go, things to eat from said places. Today's post is going to be all about New Plymouth! I had never been to New Plymouth before so I was rather excited that on my weekend off, me and my partner decided to make a weekend of going down there, we just booked an air bnb and off we went, super easy, super simple. It's a three hour trip from the Waikato so if you are only there for the weekend I would highly suggest to leave quite early in the morning, we (me very begrudgingly) left at around 7.30 to start our day (me with a very big mug of coffee in my hand)
PLACES TO GO: New Plymouth is right on the coast of New Zealand so even the trip down was stunning with the beautiful green lush scenery and the view of Mount Taranaki as we drove. We stopped on the way in Mokau, a very cute little town and had some food-- a classic kiwi mince and cheese pie from a bakery-- and sat for a while looking at this stunning view and enjoying the sunshine and the slight breeze.
Outfit details for anyone wondering (although I definitely went for comfort over style) White Long sleeve Shirt: Glassons ( could be found literally anywhere) Black Leggings: Adidas (so ridiculously comfortable) Denim Jacket: Kmart (kids aisle SCORE!) Converse: white low tops
We carried on our merry way to New Plymouth and passed a sign that said Mount Dampner Falls and spontaneously decided it would be a good idea to go find this waterfall as we can never resist a good adventure. The road was a slighty dangerous gravel road as well as being uphill most of the way so it was a bit of a mish to get there! There was also no sign posting after the first inital "Mount Dampner" turn sign. We carried on down this road for a fair while very unsure whether we were actually going to get to the damn waterfall but eventually we found a sign showing us where it was. We had to walk across some farm land to get to the actual waterfall as well as a little bush walk as well.
When we actually got to New Plymouth we went on a walk down the coast to look at the wind wand, this is where cyclists, skateboarders, runners and walkers alike can see the gorgeous coastline, enjoy the sunshine and get some exercise.
We went back down the coast walk at sunset and onto the pier which although it was ridiculously windy that my ears rang from it when we got home and I had windchapped cheeks and lips, it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen especially with Mount Taranaki in the backround. Would absolutely recommend going to the pier and doing this, its incredible.
We also took a walk around Brooklands Park, and Pukekura Park which were absolutely beautiful! (Totally helped that the weather was perfect) and visited Brooklands Zoo which was a free zoo for the public to go visit Llamas, Meerkats, Native Birds and Lizards and all sorts of animals. Such a cool place to visit, there's a playground for the kids and a picnic area, such a good day out! While you are walking around Pukekura Park (that place is huge, we walked around for like two and a bit hours and seemed to never go to the same place in the park twice!) You can go have a look at the Botanical Gardens (who can resist a good flower garden) and go on many different walks around the park under big beautiful trees in the shade, so peaceful and dreamy being under sun dappled trees, with a cool breeze and gravel crunching under your feet amiright?? Pictures from the botanical gardens cos LOOK HOW PRETTY!
To finsih off this rather photo-filled long blog post (there were too many gorgeous photos I couldnt resist sorry) I want to honourable mention Monica's Eatery which was the most incredible instagram aesthetic restaurant/cafe where we had the best fast service and incredible food, we very very nearly went back for breakfast the next day! Here's the only picture I got of the food because I'm a terrible blogger and got stuck right in as soon as it arrived on the table.. (this was the most incredible blueberry tart)
Hope you've enjoyed reading about what I got up to in New Plymouth and it's given you some sort of inspiration for future travels and adventures there. I really really enjoyed my time in New Plymouth, the weather was gorgeous, so much nature and really good food, what more could a girl ask for? Lots of love, Hayley x