Weekend In The 'Naki

This weekend, we went up to New Plymouth in Tarananki to stay with ours friends Emma and Simon. They're from the UK, and Emma is a physio that Jon use to work with. They've been out in NZ for about two years now- it's hard to believe that the last time we saw them was at their leaving do in Birmingham! We hired a car a got away quickly after work on Friday. The journey takes about five hours, but is spectacularly easy- you just have to remember to turn left after about 100 miles! We arrived in time for a chilli and few beers and good catch up before bed.

On Saturday, we drove to a local beach to take Lola (their dog) for a walk and tire her out before we went for brunch. In the afternoon, we went along to the new coastal walkway. They've built a bridge called the Te Rewa Rewa, which frames Mount Taranaki beautifully. We spent about an hour strolling along the coastal path and enjoying the sunshine, with views of the mountain to one side and the sea to the other.

Walkies in the Autumn Sunshine

Te Rewa Rewa Bridge

Mount Taranaki

View of the Surf from the Coastal Walkway

The weather was amazing again on Sunday, and we took Lola to Pukekura Park. It would have been lovely to stay all day (it was warm enough for a picnic), but we needed to head back to Wellington. When we drove up on Friday it was dark for much of the journey and we didn't really get to appreciate much of the scenery, so it was a pleasant surprise for us on the way back! We broke up the drive by stopping at Stratford Plateau for a close up view of the mountain, and then we stopped for some food at a place called Bulls for some dinner (see the photo below for some NZ humour....)

Sunday morning in the park (Emma, Jon, Vic and Lola)

The Sceneic Route Home

Incomprehens-A-Bull?

 

We feel like we've had a real little holiday, and can't wait until our next visit! See you then guys!