The first thing we learn about New Plymouth is that the majority of New Zealanders don’t really understand why we’ve decided to go to New Plymouth. Most people, after we tell them we’re going, respond with ‘So what’s there then aye?’ I guess expecting us to say we’re staying with family or working. The idea of traveling to New Plymouth for pleasure surprises them.
Our initial thoughts when strolling along with 10k beach walkway, which we’re staying less than 30 seconds away, is why? New Plymouth seems lovely, big rolling surf and black sand beaches on one side and a beautiful snow capped mountain flanking the other. On our first day in New Plymouth we don’t have to work, bonus, as our host is away working. We walk into town and visit the local museum, which is large, we make the decision to come back when we’ve got more time. I nip into a bookshop, I’m after some New Zealand poetry and a Moari myths book, but they don’t have either. There’s another walkway, its a walkway town, we bimble along enjoying the ferns.
The house we’re staying in is impressive. When it was bought, in the 80s, it was the most expensive house in the area. The garden space along is impressive, add four bedrooms, swimming pool, hot tub (the locals call them a spa) and more natural light than England seems in a year, and you’ve got a recipe for where we’re staying. We feel like we’ve won the lottery. We’re staying, for free, in a massive house with a beautiful golden retriever called Rosie. All for a few hours gardening a day. Marvelous.
On our second day, Tilly is picking lemons and I am designing a leaflet for our host Jennie. Jennie is originally from Nottinghamshire, moving here in the 80s with her husband, who sadly has passed away. She explains to us, while we’re there, that she buzzes off of the energy of other people. She’s an extrovert. Opening up her house to workaways and renting one room to a Māori girl called Teina (who we’ll talk about more later) is her way of doing that.
Once we finish working that day, we walk to the Te Rewa Rewa bridge, which on a clear day frames Mount Taranaki neatly. Today is not a clear day. Or it is, but as we frequently found out, clear and blue above us doesn’t necessarily mean clear and blue where the mountain is. This leads us to referring to it as the Misty Mountain, indulging our Tolkienian fantasy evermore.
Day 3 is Saturday and Jennie is hosting an 88th birthday party for her Mum. The whole family are round for lunch. We’ve had multiple experiences now where family events are occurring not around us but with us. Its been a highlight of the trip, both because these moments have been lovely but also its not what we usually expect when we travel. We’ve been thinking about this a lot, usually when you travel you interact mostly with service staff, people paid to be kind to you. That is not to say that those people aren’t kind, in fact some fun memories of traveling involve service staff and their varying attitudes. Here, we’ve spent most of our time with people that are New Zealanders, we feel like we’ve had an insight into what New Zealanders are like, which has been amazing.
After we’ve eaten lunch, Jennie’s nephew is kind enough to offer me a lift to watch the rugby. Taranaki are playing against Bay of Plenty in the second highest domestic standard of rugby. I’ve been itching to watch a live sports event while we’re here so I’m very pleased. I strike lucky when given a free ticket at the desk, the lady informing me that someone had just handed it in as they couldn’t come.
Taranaki lose, they only had themselves to blame, and I’m left with two thoughts, 1) Rugby, as a spectator sport, is not as good as football 2) I bet the second tier of rugby at home probably doesn’t have attendances of around 5,000.
Jennie picks me up from the Rugby, with Tilly and Rosie in the back, we drop off her Mum at what Jennie explains is a retirement village, and we drive over to back beach. Back beach is stunning, it is framed by the sugarloafs, two separate rocky outcrops that spring out of the ocean and are lapped at constantly by it, and Paritutu. Paritutu is a sharp angler rock, towering over the beach. The beach itself has sand so dark blue it is almost black, but in patches you can see this deep blue colour that is just wondrous, and is teased by the waves. It is mostly flat, with a sand dune at the access point which is great fun to run down. We walk Rosie and are just in awe of the place. It is a beach I’ll never forget.
The next day is a relaxed one, Tilly is not feeling 100% so we agree to take it slowly. We go for a short walk in the park and then spend the afternoon in the spa, soaking up the sun and relaxing. The budget volunteer traveling life not feeling too bad. Later, we are introduced to new card games and gleam information about Māori culture from Teina, who, I think, thoroughly enjoys sharing it with us.
Denny and Debbie's Little Big Adventure 