Wellington to New Plymouth
NZDH Wellington to New Plymouth chapter
Fifty minutes drive north of Wellington, the Kapiti Coast is well known for its exceptional
cheese and unique flora and fauna. Many of NZ’s most endangered birds reside on
this coastline which leads north to Wanganui, a historic riverboat town. It once
formed part of a thriving tourist route between Auckland and Wellington, and today
this bygone era is recreated aboard NZ’s only coal-fired paddle steamer, the PS
Waimarie. Further north the symmetrical volcanic cone of Mt Taranaki can be seen
clearly on the horizon. Taranaki’s bulbous coastline is tucked firmly around twothirds
of this zen-like mountain, providing NZ’s most consistent surf conditions. Access
is provided courtesy of SH45, the Surf Highway, which follows around the coast from
Hawera to New Plymouth. We spend three days exploring the coast from Wellington
to New Plymouth. Bob milks his first cow and I take a tandem surf ride. Together
we sample Kapiti’s award winning cheeses and icecream, visit Jerusalem, drink endless
cups of tea with Whanganui River Road locals, shovel coal aboard an old paddle steamer,
and watch the sunset over Mt Taranaki.
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Day One
Wellington to Wanganui
After two days discovering the capital city of Wellington, Bob and I are eager to
get “on the road again” and Bob throatily sings this well known tune as we leave
town, and travel north to Paraparaumu.
“Para para para – what?” he suddenly exclaims as he sees a sign. A quick language
lesson follows – Maori vowels for dummies – before we come to a halt outside Lindale
Animal Barn. Here we watch a shearing and milking demonstration but the highlight
comes when Bob tries to master hand-milking a cow.
“It’s not as easy as it looks,” he later moans, “I only got one squirt!”
Before leaving we visit the Kapiti Cheese Shop and Factory where we sample some
of their cheeses and purchase blocks of gold medal winning Aorangi and Kikorangi
cheese to lunch upon later.
In the meantime a creamy Kapiti icecream keeps the hunger pangs at bay. I try the
gingernut – it’s scrumptious; Bob can’t decide between the fig and honey, lemongrass
and ginger, or port and prune. So – in true Bob-fashion – he takes a scoop of each.
At Waikanae we debate whether to visit the bird sanctuary on Kapiti Island, then
settle upon a visit to the Nga Manu Wildlife Sanctuary. Here we walk through huge
aviaries and discover NZ’s unique flora and fauna in a variety of recreated habitats.
Bob spots two North Island brown kiwi in the kiwi house as well as three prehistoric-looking
tuatara basking in the sun.
We enjoy our picnic on an island surrounded by eels. “Here’s the great-grandmother,”
says Bob, feeding a cracker to an enormous eel who looks like he’s enjoyed a lifetime
of overindulgence. Replete we drive north on SH1 through numerous small towns: Otaki,
Levin, Foxton and Bulls, where we take SH3 to Wanganui, a town nestled on the banks
of the Whanganui River. Now somewhat out of the way, Wanganui was once a major tourist
attraction forming part of a thriving route between Auckland and Wellington. Steamers
plied the river transporting visitors from the central plateau town of Taumaranui
to Wanganui; a stationary houseboat and hotel in Pipiriki accommodated guests en
route. Plummeting tourist numbers in the depression years brought an end to the
riverboat era, but memories of its heyday survive in the town’s many original homes
and historic buildings.
Visitors can also recreate the experience aboard NZ’s only coal-fired paddle steamer,
the PS Waimarie. We arrive in time for the 2 pm departure and with a cheerful toot
we’re off. Captain Barry Thorner is at the wheel and we join engineer, Kevin Holly,
and stoker, Murray Greathead below in the engine room. Bob lends a hand to shovel
coal but it’s excruciatingly hot, so I retreat to the comfort of the saloon leaving
Bob to discuss the Waimarie’s original, fully restored engines.
Later we drive down Wanganui’s main street and admire its many beautiful buildings
including the Opera House, built in 1899, and the Sarjeant Gallery, which features
many notable artworks from the 19th and 20th centuries, before checking into a B&B
nestled beside the river.
We finish the day watching the sunset over distant Mt Taranaki from the top of a
33.5 metre Memorial Tower constructed at the end of WWI. The 176-step staircase
helps build an appetite and we dine at Vega on Taupo Quay upon salmon and ostrich
steaks before returning to our accommodation, where I (at least) enjoy a sound sleep.
+more
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Day Two
Wanganui to Hawera with a side trip up the Whanganui River Road
“Donna wake up,” Bob whispers urgently at some ridiculous hour of the morning. He
awoke at 4 am and, not wishing to disturb me (until now) read a book about the River
Road. But it seems he can wait no longer, we must go to Jerusalem – without delay!
And so it is that we follow the emerald Whanganui River up a route that is more
like a driveway, so friendly are its inhabitants. Near Koriniti we stop and chat
to a group of pig hunters who heave a glossy black boar up the riverbank. “It’s
a big’n,” says Tex, who invites us to share in the pig which will be cooked on a
spit, in true Whanganui River style.
Sadly we decline and leave tooting the horn. Bob comments on how welcoming everyone
is. As we continue our drive Bob entertains me with an account of his early morning
read including the Maori legend of the forming of the Whanganui River. Mt Taranaki
lost a fierce battle with Mt Tongariro over the fair maiden Pihanga (a smaller mountain
in the central plateau) and fled to Taranaki, carving the Whanganui River and filling
it with his tears. Later, when Europeans set up farms, transport was required to
get their produce into town so in 1891 the paddle steamer Wairere began a regular
service.
When we arrive in Jerusalem, St Joseph’s Church casts a mirrored image of its steeple
upon the river. A Roman Catholic Mission was established here in 1854 and the late
James K Baxter, an influential NZ poet, formed a community here in the 1960s and
wrote the Jerusalem Sonnets. His grave is at St Joseph’s where Sisters Sue, Laboure
and Anna Maria, the guardians of this church and its grounds warmly welcome us.
Sister Sue makes us tea and then leads us to Baxter’s grave.
On our return to Wanganui we stop again on the riverbank in Koriniti to watch canoes
float past. Here we meet Ann Handley, who with all the usual friendliness of Whanganui
River folk, invites us in for a hot cuppa with ninety-eight-year-old Granny who
has lived on the river all her life. Her earlier days were spent at a huge farm
station across the river from Jerusalem and once a year she would make the long
journey by paddle steamer into town. Back then it took one day to get there, one
day to shop and another day to return. “They were the best days of my life,” Granny
tells us.
After several cups of tea and slices of fruit loaf served with lashings of Ann’s
homegrown manuka honey, mid afternoon comes all too soon. We depart for Wanganui
and rejoining SH3, drive through the townships of Waverley and Patea to Hawera where
we check into a motel and order a takeout meal. Although tired from his early start,
Bob’s jubilant. “I’ve never drunk that much tea or met such friendly people,” he
says. “Is it all a dream?”
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Day Three
Wellington to Wanganui
In the morning Mt Taranaki is parading his magnificent Fuji-like torso in the sun
as we begin our day at Kevin Wasley’s Elvis Presley Museum. Kevin or ‘KD’ as he’s
known in these parts, greets us at the curb and vigorously shakes Bob’s hand when
he discovers that he’s a fellow enthusiast.
But perhaps not as passionate – when we step inside his garage it’s like a shrine,
with the floors, ceiling and walls plastered in Elvis pictures, posters and newspaper
cuttings. KD began his collection in 1959 when he was 14 years old and amongst the
numerous exhibits are old LP covers, signed records and albums from around the world,
photos, posters, number plates, cuff links, a jumble of replica clothes and endless
other memorabilia. “It’s my tribute to the man,” he tells us before we depart to
climb up the Hawera Water Tower. From the top we have excellent views of the vibrant,
green Taranaki countryside, before we drive to Tawhiti Museum, hailed as one of
the best private museums in NZ.
The brainchild of ex-art teacher, Nigel Ogle, its galleries recreate many aspects
of early life in South Taranaki, from the Maori-European land wars to the struggles
of the dairy industry.
“It’s so lifelike,” says Bob as we admire Nigel’s painstakingly crafted models in
realistic historical settings.
We leave town on SH45, the legendary Surf Highway, which horseshoes around the coastline
beneath Mt Taranaki, past several popular surfing haunts en route to New Plymouth.
In Manaia, a town centred upon an octagon-shaped roundabout and dubbed the ‘bread
capital’ of NZ, we stop at Yarrows, a familyowned bakery which has been in operation
since 1923. Their buttery hand-rolled croissants and Danish pastries are renowned
and after a Danish each, we continue onto Opunake, where we meet Dave, the town’s
barber, after Bob (spotting the stripy barber’s pole) peers through the window and
announces that he’s due for a cut.
While Bob attends to his grooming, I visit the eye-catching Everybody’s Theatre
next door where Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin grace its billboards. Movies
play every Friday and Sunday night and its interior is charming, with old-style
movie chairs and posters.
Then I pop along to visit Heather Baldwin at the Soap Factory, where she makes everything
from scratch and gathers seaweed for her wares from the beach. Prices start at $1.25,
so there’s something here for everyone, even for kids looking for a nice gift for
Mum.
When I return Bob’s hair is under control and he’s chatting to Dave about a message
he discovered in a bottle. “I found it up the road,” Dave tells us, “it was sent
by a guy in the South African Navy.” Quite a talking piece, the bottle is on display
in his shop. “Lots of people come to see it,” he says.
For lunch we have delicious chicken cranberry pizzas followed by huge slabs of homemade
chocolate cake at the Sugar Juice Café, then admire the town’s many murals, and
hunt for treasures at the Old Curiosity Shop before we leave.
In Oaonui we catch a glimmer of Taranaki’s $2 billion energy industry at the Maui
Production Station visitor centre before we arrive in Pungarehu. We drive through
an unusual landscape of bobbly hills and cabbage trees to the Cape Egmont lighthouse
where Bob takes a stunning photo of the tall beacon with Mt Taranaki in the background.
In Oakura, a famous surf beach just south of New Plymouth, Bob hires a surfboard
and gear from Vertigo, while I don a wetsuit and go for a tandem surf ride with
Greg Page on a custom-made fourmetre surfboard. It’s totally exhilarating and later
as we stand on the beach drinking mugs of hot tea Greg tells us that he first learnt
to surf with his father, balancing on the front of his board.
It turns out that Greg’s no stranger to carrying extra bodies on his board – he’s
even surfed on a 28-foot board with 13 others for the Guinness Book of Records.
We check out the photographs and newspaper clippings at Vertigo before we depart
for Puke Ariki in New Plymouth, a unique combination of library, museum and information
centre located behind the waving Len Lye wind-wand sculpture on the waterfront.
Here we learn the stories of the region, including a rendition of Mt Taranaki’s
sad tale, before taking a pre-dinner stroll along the waterfront.
All of a sudden Bob stops and stares profoundly at the pounding sea. “They say Mt
Taranaki’s lonesome here all by himself but you know what, I think he’s loving every
minute of it - look at him now,” he drawls.
I turn to look at Mt Taranaki’s icy crown which basks in the last rays of the setting
sun. He has a rosy glow and actually looks extremely content – if you believe that
a mountain can find happiness. “You know Bob,” I say eventually, “I’d really have
to agree.”
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