Surf Highway
Trip Start
Jun 05, 2007
1
79
131
Trip End
Jun 2009
New Plymouth,
New Zealand
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
After a short stop in Wanganui town to obtain some information on the Surf Highway, so called for the excellent surf beaches which line this stretch of coast we headed off to find a few. The weather was not great, and neither were the waves, not really surfing conditions. We stopped for a break at Kai Iwi beach to listen to the waves and then continued along the coastal road to Hawera where we decided to stop the night
Dawson Falls
. Right next door to the campsite was a swimming pool which had a huge flume, and as we got a discount we decided it would be rude not to go. It was brilliant - although being outdoors it wasn't the warmest pool and slides we had even experienced. The following day we continued along the highway taking in more of the beaches until finally arriving at Opunake where we got our first real look at Mt Taranaki (Mt Egmont). This 2518m volcano which last blew 350 years ago and although currently dormant experts recogn it is long overdue for another explosion, it allegedly the wettest place in NZ. Mt Taranaki is one of the most sacred places in NZ to the Maouri people who used in the past as both a burial ground for Maori chiefs and as a place to hide out in times of danger. Legend has it that Mt Taranaki used to be part of the Tongariro volcanos (those around lake Taupo), but one day Tongariro found Taranaki with Pihanga (another volcano near Tongariro), who was meant to be Tongariro's lover. Taranaki fled and ended up on the far western edge, carving out the Wanganoui River as he did, with his back to the other mountains and his head in the clouds to cover the fact that he was crying. The cloud bit is true, it is vary rare that you will ever see the top of Taranaki, as we found when we were there. It was Captain Cook who renamed Mt Taranaki, Mt Egmont in order to try and get in with Lord Egmont. The name stuck for quite sometime, even being used to name the national park which Taranaki sits in (Egmont National Park), although most now recognise the true and original name of this amazing mountain. One other thing about Mt Taranaki is its alleged striking resemblence to Mt Fuji in japan - so much so that it was used as Mt Fuji when the film with Tom Cruise, The Last Samuri, was filmed here in 2002.We got an early start the following morning in order to take in Mt Egmont national park and get a closer look at Mr Taranaki, plus we wanted to see Dawson Falls
Dead Possum
. The weather was once again against us that morning and upon arrival at the base of Mt Taranaki we knew there was no way we were going to be able to walk up it. The rain was coming down and the wind was blowing. A deceptively difficult mountain at the best of times and covered in snow from 800m up for almost all of the year we decided on a loop walk which took us down a track to see the Dawson Waterfalls, hidden in the middle of trees and fed by the Mountain it was worth the walk, but a little disappointing not to have been able to get closer to the Mountain itself. On our way back out of the National Park we saw a possum - dead - purposfully draped over a sign, like a warning to anyone who loves these animals, that within this park and in most of NZ the Australian introduced possum will be killed whatever the cost in order to protect the Kiwi and other native birds and creatures. We headed back out to the coast, stopping a couple of times as we were lucky enough to not only get a great Kodak moment of Mt Taranaki, but Mt Taranaki with it's head briefly out of the clouds.. Stunning!. We continued north along the Surf highway stopping briefly at Cape Egmont lighthouse (the most westerly point in New Zealand), although we got lost trying to get there and ended up driving past it a couple of times during a 1 hour detour as the roads were so badly sign posted it was not funny!!, and also passing landscape strewn with Lahar (old volcanic mud flows) which look like large camels burried in the earth or hobbiton on a larger scale. After an afternoon coffee and hot chocolate in Oakura and a look around the craft shops that this little town is famous for (Yep Rach was in her element again!) we finally arrived in New Plymouth, the major city in this part of the north island. This City now fully embrassing its multicultural past was for a long time the site of massive land war between the Maori and European settlers. Now famous for the Gas and Coal fields which line the coast, there is not a huge amout of do, although if you make it, you have to take the time to go to the visitors centre and see the crazy film show of the history of the area. Make sure you are not sensative to strobe lighting though!!!.
