Deciding to get away from the city for the new year, I chose to head to the Taranaki region with friends as it was one area of New Zealand I hadn’t been to yet. The first part of our trip was going through Taupo for Le Currents, an indie music festival. Then we were off on our adventure!
Where to Stay in Taranaki
Book a stay with Bookabach or AirBnB around New Plymouth.
Through Bookabach, we booked the Rotokauwau Farmstay which accommodates up to 8 people. A great choice for a large group of friends like us as most of the beds are bunks. The location is great for a break away from the city. It’s fairly far from town but has plenty of adventure to offer on its own.
One day during our stay we explored the farmland following a marked trail that looped around the small lake and through dense bush to a waterfall.
Food & Drink
Shining Peak Brewing
Shining Peak Brewing blends top-notch craft beer with a warm, pub vibe. This popular brewpub serves a rotating lineup of beers brewed on site. You can try a few of these at once through their beer taster paddles. We also tried a couple of their beer based cocktails!
Rice Rice Baby
A funky brightly coloured Vietnamese restaurant. They also have restaurants around NZ in Hamilton and Tauranga too. There’s cheap tasty cocktails.
Sights & Activities in Taranaki
Three Sisters Beach & Elephant Rock
The Three Sisters are accessible for about two hours either side of low tide, so check the tide times before you go. Ditch your shoes for the walk as you’ll need to go through on the side of the estuary which can be quite muddy to get to the actual beach. If you like finding critters, there’s small crabs all along the sandbar.
There will be a section of beach where all whole lot driftwood has washed up. Go past all of that then walk along to the left side towards the rock formations. It’s a gorgeous walk as the beach is black sand, the caves are fun to explore and find a small hidden beach at the end.
Fitzroy Beach
In New Plymouth, Fitzroy beach is a great beach for swimming and even surfing. With it being along the west coast, there are definite waves so there’s plenty of people are out boogie boarding.
If you’re looking for the classic NZ fish & chips by the beach experience, Snapper’s Fish & Chips is down the road from Fitzroy Beach – I recommend going here instead of the surf lifesaving club cafe.
Puke Ariki Museum
Completely free to enter, this place is a learning hub with plenty of exhibits on Taranaki local history, wildlife and innovations.
Just outside this museum you’ll also find the Wind Wand – a giant bending sculpture that moves to show the direction of the wind.
Govett-Brewster Gallery / Len Lye Centre
This is a small art gallery, it doesn’t take long to go through and see all the pieces. At the moment they have an exhibition of kinetic sculptures that explore resonating materials. The movement of them is only displayed at quarter past each hour and runs for about 25 mins, with the last showing at 4.15pm.
Pukekura Park / TSB Festival of Lights
While a perfectly beautiful park on its own, the festival of lights really brings the location to life at night. Run from mid December to late January, this event is one you don’t want to miss if you’re in the area.
It’s not just about the lights on display either. There are food trucks available at the entrance to grab a snack before or after you walk around the park to see all the lights. There was a digital treasure hunt to take part in where you could go in the draw to win weekly prizes. Brightly lit row boats could be hired out at $30 for 25 minutes on the small lake at the centre of the park – definitely book ahead online if you want to do this. As we decided to visit on New Years Eve, we unfortunately missed out before we even got to the park in the late afternoon.
Thanks for joining me on my journey!
If you’re looking for more New Zealand travel Inspo, check out my Pinterest board!
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