.
The scenic roads on this trip climb through rainforests high into the subalpine zone on Taranaki / Mt Egmont, and cross the plains through some of the old timber towns to exotic gardens, fascinating museums and a 400-year-old Maori fortress.
The mountain known as both Taranaki and Egmont is the symmetrical centrepiece of this province, and its influence spreads far and wide. Scientists believe the mountain may once have had a crater lake from which, during numerous eruptions, mudflows spread across the plains, nourishing the lush rainforests that covered the region. The earliest European settlers were largely engaged in the timber industry, then when the forests were felled, the rich volcanic soils supported the dairy farms that have grown into Taranaki's main industry today. Alpine streams feed icy-cold water across the fertile plains that surround the mountain, and snow-cooled temperatures enable the rhododendron, a gorgeously flowered Himalayan shrub, to flourish in Taranaki's gardens. The scenic roads on this trip climb through rainforests high into the subalpine zone on Taranaki / Mt Egmont, and cross the plains through some of the old timber towns to exotic gardens, fascinating museums and a 400-year-old Maori fortress.
A typical Taranaki pioneer cottage built in the 1850s.
1new plymouth
You can take a journey into the past by visiting many of the cities preserved historic buildings on the heritage walkway. New Zealand's first stone church, St Mary's which was built on Vivian Street in 1842 has a display of regimental flags from the Taranaki Wars. Frederick Thatcher designed this architectural gem along with the Gables Cottage hospital in Brooklands Park. There is also Richmond Cottage, which was also built from stone in 1853 and is now a colonial museum. Originally known as Beach Cottage it was the home of one of the first settler families and has been furnished with items from the period. Across the road on Ariki Street is Puke Ariki, a integrated library, museum and visitor information centre that numerous exhibitions, displays and collections of historic material and colonial artefacts. Nearby is the 7 km Coastal Walkway which runs almost the entire length of the city. This seaside promenade set above a curved seawall, is popular for walking, running, cycling and skating, and runs from the Waiwhakaiho River mouth at its eastern end to Port Taranaki in the west. The Govett-Brewster on Queen Street is one of the finest contemporary art galleries in the country, famous for its film archive on the pioneer animator, modernist filmmaker and kinetic sculptor Len Lye. Pukekura Park, first opened in 1876, is only a l0 minute walk from the city centre with 52 ha of formal gardens, bush walks, streams, ponds, waterfalls and a lake. In the adjacent Brooklands Park you will find over 300 varieties of rhododendron and a 2000-year-old puriri tree. The bowl is a natural amphitheatre that hosts many local and international concerts as well as music festivals. Next to the bowl, Brooklands Zoo is home to a range of farmyard animals, an endangered red panda, otters and lemurs. You can watch the capuchin and cotton-top tamarin monkeys from an elevated viewing deck and also walk through a free-flight aviary containing a selection of colourful birds and Parma wallabies.
2hurworth cottage
From central New Plymouth head southeast 1.8 km on Elliot Street and SH3 then turn right and continue on Coronation Ave and Tarahuna Road 1 km and take the first exit on the roundabout south onto Carrington Road. Continue 6.1 km to Hurworth on the right side of the road.
Hurworth Cottage was built by Harry Atkinson using hand sawed timber in 1856, the young pioneer, later going on to serve four terms as New Zealand's premier. The occupants buried their valuables and fled during the New Zealand Wars but Hurworth Cottage survived, the only building in the area that wasn’t burnt to the ground during the conflict.
3pukeiti rhododendron trust
Continue southwest 13.2 km on Carrington Road through farmland to Pukeiti on the right.
The world-famous Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust gardens are set in forest between the Pouakai and Kaitake Ranges. Formed in 1951 to promote interest in rhododendrons and azaleas and the protection of native forests and birds, Pukeiti is particularly spectacular and colourful in the spring flowering season from late September to November. There are numerous species and hybrid rhododendrons, evergreen and deciduous azaleas, vireyas, camellia reticulata, magnolias and michelias, primulas, native orchids, viburnum, prunus, hostas, arisaema (Cobra lilies) and cinerarias. The 360 ha site was selected because of the cool airflow coming off the mountain slopes, which creates ideal growing conditions for this shrub native to Nepal. In summer, you can enjoy late season rhododendrons, vireyas, kalmias, cardiocrinum and Asiatic lilies, hydrangeas, iris, meconopsis, hostas, astilbes, primulas, begonias, impatiens and herbaceous plants. Autumn is the best time for vireya rhododendrons, hydrangeas, colchicum, Japanese anemones, climbing rata, cyclamen and autumn bulbs. In winter the displays include early rhododendrons, mahonias, hamamelis, camellias, daphne bholua, vireyas, snowdrops, narcissus, crocus, pleione orchids and cinerarias.
4north egmont
Return to SH3, turn right and continue southeast 10 km on SH3 to the Egmont Village. Turn right and drive 16 km up onto the mountain to the North Egmont Visitor Centre.
The drive up the mountain to the end of the road passes through the luxuriant rainforest that clothes the lower slopes of the mountain, eventually reaching the subalpine zone where tree growth is stunted by cold air and high winds in this harsh alpine environment. Short walking tracks wind through distinctive 'cloud forests' of dwarf kamahi with twisted and moss-covered trunks. The visitor centre at the top of the road provides maps and information on the Egmont National Park which covers over 33,000 ha, includes the dormant volcanic cones of the nearby Kaitake Peak and Pouakai Range as well as Taranaki/Mt Egmont, which last erupted around 1755. Taranaki's 2518 m peak is one of the most frequently climbed mountains in New Zealand.
5Stratford
Return to Egmont Village, turn right onto SH3 and drive 27 km to Stratford. The road passes through Inglewood where large numbers of Russian, Polish and German immigrants settled during its early years as a mill town.
In the nineteenth century Stratford started out as a timber town. It was named after William Shakespeare's birthplace in England and many of its streets bear the names of Shakespearean characters. The Patea River winds through the centre of the town which features many parks and gardens. The Taranaki Pioneer Village, just south of the town on SH3, is a very large, interesting outdoor museum with numerous reconstructed colonial buildings, including the authentic Mangatoki Union Church, Pembroke School, Stratford Courthouse, Okato Cottage (1856) and the Tariki Railway Station. You can take a ride on the Pioneer Express, a small steam engine similar to those used in Stratford in the 1920s. Built by a local engineer it is based on the Fowler & Bagnal shunting engine.
east egmont
Turn right from SH3 in Stratford onto Pembroke Road and drive southwest 18.3 km to the carpark at the top of the road at East Egmont.
From the car park at the end of Pembroke Road a well-graded 1 hour track leads to Manganui Gorge and the Manganui Lodge, with good views over the ski area which features some of New Zealand's steepest runs. From the Te Popo carpark on Pembroke Road you can take a 30 minute walk around the Kamahi Loop Track leading through one of the distinctive goblin forests found on the high slopes of the mountain. Also known as cloud forests, they feature twisted trunks of kamahi trees covered with ferns and mosses.
6eltham
Continue south 11.2 km on SH3 to Eltham.
Eltham features a charming collection of Victorian and Edwardian buildings lining its streets but today its main claim to fame is its range of locally made award-winning gourmet cheeses. In the 1880s, Eltham was the home of Chew Chong, an enterprising Chinese merchant, who began exporting edible fungus from the district. By 1884 he was also exporting butter to England and had built the first dairy factory by 1887. New Zealand's first cooperative dairying scheme was established here and Eltham is now famous for its blue vein cheese. Nearby you can take a walk around beautiful Lake Rotokare, which is fed by water from a natural spring.
7hollard gardens
Turn right off SH3 in Eltham onto Bridge Street and drive southwest 1.4 km onto Eltham Road. Continue 12 km to Kaponga and turn right onto Egmont Street. Drive north 0.7 km and continue 2.6 km on Manaia Road to the Hollard Gardens on the right.
This large, rambling garden features a vast array of rare plants, rhododendrons and perennials as well as an unusual swamp garden established by Bernard and Rose Hollard.
Dawson-Falls
8Dawson falls
Continue west on Manaia Road 10.4 km up onto the mountain to Dawson Falls.
This beautiful drive climbs through the rainforest to the Stratford Mountain House and the park visitor centre, located at the end of Dawson Falls Road. The falls can be viewed from a lookout which is about 10 minutes' walk down the hill from the car park. The visitor centre provides maps for a number of other tracks on this side of the mountain including the track to Wilkies Pools and the climb to the summit via Fanthams Peak.
9tawhiti museum
Return to Eltham, turn right onto SH3 and continue south 14.8 km, turn left onto Ohangai Road and drive southeast 4.1 km to the Tawhiti Museum on the left.
Perhaps the most entertaining private museum in the country, the Tawhiti Museum is the brainchild of Nigel Ogle, a model-maker who has created an incredible array of lifelike figures by taking moulds from local people. These figures bring to life a range of fascinating displays, which are housed in an old dairy factory. You can also take a ride on the 2'6" gauge Tawhiti Bush Railway, a replica of the logging railways that used to operate in Taranaki.
turuturu mokai
Return 1.3 km along Ohangai Road, turn left onto Turuturu Road and drive 1.1 km to the Turuturu Mokai reserve.
Turuturu Mokai, is a significant pre-European Ngati Tupaea pa designed at a time when tribes were still engaged in hand-fighting. It was originally made up of three pa that were grouped together to protect a population of about 400 people. In the 16th century a Maori tattoo artist (tohunga-te-moko) offered to tattoo the defenders. Maori facial and body tattooing is a long and painful operation, so while the defenders were incapacitated the pa was attacked by another tribe. The inhabitants were all either killed or taken as slaves. The name Turuturu means 'stakes' and Mokai means 'dried heads' the pa being given this name because the dead were decapitated and their severed and smoke-dried heads impaled on stakes thrust into the ground. The pa was abandoned and declared tapu until 1938 although the site became the location of a small redoubt with a blockhouse in 1866, built by a company of the 18th Royal Irish near the old pa during the Waikato Wars. It was later abandoned but when war broke out again a few years later, the redoubt was reoccupied by the NZ Militia and Armed Constabulary. In 1868 the 27 defenders were surprised at night by a party of Titokowaru's tribe the Ngaruahine. Most of the defenders were killed with only three escaping to reach the Waihi fort before Major Von Tempsky arrived with a belated relief force. Today the trenches, dwelling pits, and storage pits of the main pa site are still very well preserved having been restored in the 1930s. There is a 20 minute walk that leads around the reserve.
Taranaki - Hawera
10hawera
Continue 2.2 km on Turuturu Road southwest to SH3 turn left and continue 0.7 km into Hawera.
The name Hawera means 'burnt place' and relates to when a whare (house) was incinerated along with its sleeping inhabitants during an early intertribal battle. Hawera's fiery history continued, with significant parts of the town destroyed by blazes in 1884, 1885 and 1912. This led to the construction in 1914 of the 54 m high water tower which now stands empty but offers excellent views of the surrounding area. In the centre of the town King Edward Park features a willow pattern garden with a lake surrounded by azaleas. Kevin Wasley's Elvis Presley Memorial Room at 51 Argyl Street houses an impressive collection of records and souvenirs of the famous rock 'n' roll star.