Egmont Village

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  New Plymouth, North Island, New Zealand
Sunday, November 30, 2008

Egmont Village (New Plymouth)
A return trip for us, we were here three years ago when we had our sabbatical. We had such a relaxing time at Araheke Cottage last time we were here, we thought we'd have a break from farming and relax for a few days! When we met John, our host, last time we discovered he used to live only a few miles away from us in the UK, at Bow Brickhill. We have kept in touch since and wanted to visit again to catch up and also meet his lovely new wife, Joy. We shared a couple of evenings with them exchanging dinner invites, where we enjoyed some great conversation not to mention some good Kiwi food and wine! 

The cottage is really well equipped with all mod cons and is in an amazing rural setting. Set high on the banks above a babbling brook the cottage has sheep grazing on one side and on the other free range hens cluck away. Talking of the hens, we have never seen chickens roost up on a tree branch before, but these girls somehow manage to get themselves up there at night, all that is apart from one that tries so hard every night but doesn't seem to be able to make it up onto the branch, John said he may build her a ladder! 

The cottage has panoramic views towards the beautiful volcanic peak of Mt Taranaki, standing at around 2518 meters. A nearby location was used as the setting for the film "The last of the Samurai". Taranaki hasn't erupted since 1775 so I don't think there was much chance of any movement during our stay. When not cloaked in cloud the mountain dominates the skyline and is snow capped year round. Its slopes have some really great walking tracks and for the more adventurous one can trek 5 hours up to the summit, a task not to be taken lightly as the weather conditions can change without warning. On average one person dies on the mountain each year. In the winter months skiing and snow boarding are popular activities. 

Just 10 minutes down the road is New Plymouth, a provincial town of approximately 70,000 inhabitants. Dependent on dairy farming until the 1960's when off-shore oil and gas was discovered. It is now known as the pulse of the energy province and is currently experiencing rapid economic growth. The centre of town has good amenities with both local and global companies operating here. The main streets are lined with some good restaurants and cafes too. Backed by the Tasman Sea, you will find surfers most days catching the waves, a wet suit is most essential though! 

Only 5 minutes from Araheke cottage is Lake Mangamahoe, from here on a clear day you can get stunning views of Mt Taranaki across the waters of the lake. There is also a good 2 hour walk around the lake, it was our second experience of this trek and take it from me it's a pretty vigorous trek, not a flat walk around a lake! But the lovely scenery and flora make it worth the while.

(Thank you John and Joy for your kind hospitality).

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Araheke Cottage	John, Joy and the grand children!	Lake Mangamahoe	Mt Taranaki (Egmont)
The Pohutukawa is known as New Zealand's Christmas

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