Thursday 23 March 2023

Away Days - Finale

 I am sure a few people gave a sigh of relief on reading this title! Yes, tonight I will mass dump all the remaining images from last week's trip, days three and four (don't think there are any from Friday, as all we did was drive back in the rain)


Mount Taranaki nice and clear en route to the start of Wednesdays walk.




There were a multitude of these little bridges along the way




And the route was constantly up, over a spine, then back down to another re entrant and another bridge


It reminded me of Omar Bradley's description of the war in Italy - "over every hill, there was another river, and over that river, another hill"! (or something like that :))


After about an hour, we reached this swing bridge - THIS was a serious bridge! Only one person at a time, about 75m in length and I would say about 100 feet above the river below, I did a video of it as I walked across but its not as dramatic as I hoped it would be....




Our terminus - Waingongoro Hut - my reflection in the window is intentional, by the way!



Mount Taranaki from a different angle and still clear as a bell.


A couple more selfie attempts - my wife took the piss out of my ham-fisted hand technique in the first one, which is probably why I am laughing!



There were three or four Dept of Conservation guys doing some track maintenance (first time we have come across this in several years of bush walking) - above is before, below after,



Lunch stop was in the small Taranaki town of Inglewood, where I took a snap of the local war memorial.


Next stop after lunch was Pukeiti - Pukeiti is a garden of international significance in Taranaki, on the western North Island of New Zealand. It is in a gap between two sections of the Egmont National Park, to the northwest of the main cone of Mount Taranaki, on a saddle between it and the small Kaitake Range which stretches towards Oakura.



Now, I am not really a huge flower/garden fan, but as we had made the effort to visit the place, I thought I might as well take a few (ahem) pics - feel free to skim through them as quickly as you like!

The gardens are actually internationally renowned for the huge variety of rhododendron plants they have - but, of course, we were there at the wrong time of year to see any of them in bloom! 






The video below is really just to give an idea of the sound in the gardens, created by the large number of cicadas - some may be very familiar with this insect chorus, but its unlike anything I had heard in real life before I moved here, so may be of interest to UK readers, at least - to me, its a really jungle like sound! 




















Back in New Plymouth and still suffering from screaming calf muscles, we walked a short distance into town for a Burger King take away that we ate on the waterfront, awaiting another sunset. En route, we passed the impressive war memorial gates at the New Plymouth Boys High School





Resting my weary legs and eating a rather nice burger as the sun dropped in the sky.


Passed this on the way back to the motel.



94 Pendarves Street was one of five homes constructed in the street by Thomas and Grace Hirst for each of their adult children - Annis Hamerton, Jane Marshall, James Hirst, Mary Devenish, and Harriet Fookes. This section of Pendarves Street became known as York Terrace, after the Hirst's homeland; 94 Pendarves Street was known as 3 York Terrace and was home to James Hirst and his family. the house is now part of the Hirst Family "Hen and Chickens" Historic Area. Together the six houses are known as the "Hen and Chickens". The hen is the Hirst parents' house at 37 Cameron St (which is also known as Willowfield) and the chickens are the five houses on the south side of Pendarves Street. Willowfield was built in 1863 and the first of the Pendarves Street houses was completed in late 1864.

And that was the end of day three - back to the motel for a few hours of murder investigation and falsely convicted death row inmates!


Day four was scheduled to be a bit less effort - we intended to head to the waterfront, hire a couple of bikes, and cycle along the Coastal Walkway - but this plan fell apart when the place we planned to hire the bikes appeared to be closed, so we headed back out a short distance into the countryside to visit this small park.


The nice-looking house in the sign above has been removed from the site, unfortunately.




Then it was lunch in the small settlement of Tupare. We ate here on our previous visit and thought it was worth a return call - unfortunately, the excellent paella of my previous experience was no longer on the menu, but I did manage a seafood risotto!


After lunch, it was back into the city centre, dropped the car off at the start of the Coastal Walkway, and set off on foot - bugger, my aching calves!


A rather modern looking war memorial 



Adjacent to which was this small field piece, which I recognized as being Italian (I have seen very similar ones outside returned servicemen's clubs etc on several occasions and must have filed away the information that it was an Italian model!). However, I had assumed it was of WWII vintage and related to the fact the NZ Division spent the second half of the war fighting in Italy........WRONG! (see below)


So, I don't really know what the connection was between this gun and New Zealand - presumably, the NZ Army had them in their arsenal and when they became obsolete, dished a few of them out for use as war memorials etc?


The older, more traditional "Cenotaph" type memorial - I did not realise until later that the inscription was the same on both sides!



And once my wife finally managed to drag me away from war related photo taking, we headed north along the coastal track for a few km, then back again.




Now finally - on our second evening in New Plymouth (I think) my wife received a Snap Chat from my son that just said "Sorry Dad". On viewing said video, I saw a box of toy soldiers, previously domiciled on top of a 6-foot cupboard, now spread all over the garage floor - and a shame faced looking cat skulking on one of the roller shafts of the garage door - this was how the box looked when we got home on Friday evening!


And the culprit, not looking very apologetic!


Fortunately. it wasn't actually as bad as it all looked and after a couple of hours work on Saturday, all was returned to good order!


And there you have it. I am attending a big Sunday game at Barrys this weekend, AWI and using some of my own Front Rank collection, so will hopefully have some nice images to share from that. 

48 comments:

  1. Some cracking images there of NZ Keith and amazing how clear the mountain was in the early photos. Your recent rain has obviously removed all dust from the atmosphere! A real shocker to see the cat carnage, but glad that in the end it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it looked. Time for some cat proff cupboards?

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    1. Thanks Steve - there were some pretty good shots of Mt Taranaki in there, even if I do say so myself - amazing how BLUE the sky looks, too! Its the perennial problem of insufficient storage space...bloody cat!

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  2. Looked like a nice finish to your trip. Classic cat story....it is why we keep dogs now.

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    1. Thanks Joe and yes, cats are more trouble than dogs, in most instances - mind you, our first dog (who didn't stay long) once chewed boxes of figures that were on the ground level shelf - the regimental colours of my AWI "Buffs" still bear the scars!

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  3. Great pictures and looks like you've both had a great time

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  4. No need to impoverish myself coming to NZ on holiday, I can see all the best bits via your blog. Nice taste in cats too by the way.

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    1. Thanks JBM - maybe not ALL the best bits, but I will do my best for you! She is a pretty little cat but sassy, thats for sure.....

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  5. Looking forwards to your AWI battle with your Friend and seeing some of your Front Rank Collection.

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    1. Thanks Kev, check back Sunday evening and a report should be here!

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  6. Excellent glimpse at your part of the world, Keith. Always enjoy seeing NZ from your travels. Cats!

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    1. Thank you Jon. I am happy to share, I just hope I am not over sharing! Cats, indeed!

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    2. Well, I for one, never tire of seeing where others live and vacation. Without your regular travelogues, I would have a much less visual impression of NZ.

      My wife regularly asks why I have never shared our Egypt trip from 2019. One day, I may get around to it…

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    3. I am sure many would be interested in your Egyptian trip Jon....no pressure!

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  7. Mount Taranaki always looks impressive, especially on a clear day. Nothing worse than a dropped box. I put magnets on the bottom of all my troops for storage now, but I don't think it would have saved them from that.

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    1. Cheers Lawrence, I agree about the mountain...as to storage arrangements, I think I would have needed an electron magnet to prevent movement after than kind of drop!

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  8. Firstly - wow, fantastic views from a lovely looking trip. Thanks so much for sharing Keith!

    Next - that rope bridge.... no. just no. But I did like how you mixed up units of measurement for your readers in the description. Meters and Feet together really will only be understood by Brits who were born in the 60's-80's I think. LOL

    Lastly - that cat! Coyotes around here would be receiving a free "snack" if that happened in my garage. LOL

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    1. Thanks Dai...I thought 100 feet drop sounded more impressive than 30m! Re Lulu the cat....no comment 😀

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    2. Dai, on cats and coyotes, we agree.

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  9. Thanks Keith, I feel like I've been on holiday.

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    1. You are most welcome Richard, glad to be of service!

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  10. did you manage to get to Nigel Ogle's Tawhiti Museum in Hawera ?

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    1. Hi Bruce....no, unfortunately not....a bit too far and my wife wouldn't be in the least interested....it's a trip that, if I ever actually make it, will have to be done solo!

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    2. its really worth it , and you are wise to go sans wife , ask Barry , we went a few years ago

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    3. One day maybe mate - fingers crossed! I have seen a couple of reports and also visited their website and it certainly looks stunning!

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  11. Great set of photos Keith! very interesting and certainly some lovely walks there.
    Interesting how various bits or artillery are dotted around the place. I have always assumed they are 25 pounders but will have to have a closer look.
    When I was in Hobart many years ago I saw a big artillery piece in a park which said it was from Crimea. Not sure how it got to Hobart. 😊

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    1. Thanks Ben, yes, it's amazing what stuff has ended up where! I am sure I have seen an FT 17 in a children's play park somewhere in NZ, along with one or two other miniature inter war tanks....plus, in Paihiatua, there is a Harvard aircraft that is incorporated into a kids slide in the centre of town!

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    2. Just Google this - "harvard in pahiatua"

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    3. That is an awesome story Keith! What a fantastic community effort to make such a great piece for children!
      I would not be surprised if there are a number of pilots from the area whose first "flight" was in NZ918 😊
      I simply can't imagine such a thing happening now days, getting permission would be a nightmare.

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    4. I really pleased you found the story so interesting, :Peter, and no doubt, many, if not all, of your comments are correct!

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  12. Lovely interlude from the NZ tourist board, looked bad with the cat, I'm glad it's sorted out!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain I am glad you enjoyed the montage! Yes, the damage caused by the frisky feline was fortunately less severe than it first appeared!

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  13. Nice series of vacation pics and stories. Glad you had a pleasant time with your spouse. Now you can stay inside for the rest of the year safe and sound. 😀

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    1. Thanks Stew. As it happens, I feel a bit crap today-sore throat, runny nose and a head ache - and I didn't have the best sleep. Add to that, a number of work colleagues had Covid over the last day or two, and maybe I will be in for a week inside?

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    2. Did a test and all clear....yay!

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  14. NZ is a truly beautiful wonderland. Glad you didn't pick up the bug.

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    1. Thanos Dran..
      Yep, no Covid, so should be all good for the AWI game tomorrow, thankfully!

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  15. Dean beat me to it: what a lovely place NZ is. Very wise of you to not take it for granted and get out and about. By the way, the video of the bridge crossing looked plenty dramatic to me!

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    1. Thanks Ed, it IS good to get out and about, visiting different parts of the great little country! I was hoping, the long drop to the river below would be more obvious!

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  16. Sadly we have all had those moments where troops gave crashed to the floor Keith. Thankfully no serious damage done.

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    1. Very true Mark....I was pretty fortunate, given the height of the fall, how little damage actually occurred!

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  17. Beautiful views of a beautiful country… always a pleasure to see.
    It’s a shame you had to come home to a cat-astrophe… she probably didn’t do it on purr-puss 😬
    Glad you got everything fixed.

    All the best. Aly

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  18. A great travelogue, Keith! We have 3 dogs, and they are fine with wargames,etc.
    Cats are another subject altogether! :-)

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    1. Thanks Peter, I am happy you enjoyed the pics. Our cat is certainly more disruptive to wargaming than our dog, and don't even get me started on how often she wakes me up to get in/out and/or get fed....it's like having a baby in the house again!

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