New Plymouth

New Plymouth proved to be the perfect place to relax, unwind and see in the New Year.  Sadly, low cloud-shrouded Mt Taranaki the entire time we were there so we never did get to enjoy the city’s iconic backdrop.  However, as luck would have it, the hotel we booked proved to be one of those rare finds that transforms a dot on the map into a true vacation highlight.  We’d definitely stay here again!

 We stayed at the Nice Hotel which included a fine dining restaurant called Table.  The hotel was a classic upmarket boutique experience.  The owner, Terry, was warm and friendly.  Nothing was too much trouble.  We were upgraded to a private suite complete with our own vine-shaded outdoor patio that looked over a sunny, sheltered, sub-tropical outdoor space.  We spent more than one afternoon enjoying cheese and nibbles surrounded by waving palms, goldfish ponds and bird song.

Garry and I ultimately ate at Table every night. Terry also slotted us into the guest list for a huge party that the hotel hosted on New Year’s Eve.  We wined and dined and partied in 2019 with several hundred guests, a live band and an appropriately kilted bag-pipe player.

We did venue out of the hotel a few times to explore the city and its art galleries.  We also walked a fair stretch of New Plymouth’s popular coastal pathway. This stretches along its waterfront for more than 8kms. Everywhere we looked the Metrosideros Excelsa was in full bloom (that’s Pōhutukawa to you common folk) and the city’s famous Wind Wand kinetic sculpture silently waved its way north.