Oakura

Oakura is the exact opposite of Tasman. We loved hiking and ocean side walks here but didn’t love our Airbnb. Although the place had beautiful views and was setup nicely it was not well up-kept. We arrived late at night and first thing the next day we went out and bought cleaning supplies. We put the dishes through the dishwasher, ran the tub clean cycle on the washer and generally cleaned all of the countertops and tables we would be using. Kuah also had to vacuum the floors as they were really dirty.

In the mornings the temperature was cold and the afternoons were hot. We didn’t dare put on the AC or heater as it had layers of dirt and mold visible on it. So we just opened the windows to let in the breeze in the afternoon and bundled up in the mornings.

Now for all of the great things here. We went on my favorite hike here on Mt. Taranaki, also know as Mt. Edgemont. It is a dormant volcano that was about an hours drive from where we were staying. The mountain is beautiful to see from afar and even more amazing up close. It is full of lush vegetation and waterfalls.

We hiked from the Mount Egmont Viewing Platform past Wilkies Pools to the Dawson Falls Visitor Center and back. It was 4 miles with an elevation gain of 840 ft and took us about 2 hours and 20 mins round trip. The road up to the viewing platform was super duper curvy.

In this hike I learned that Kuah and I are opposite. We started at the top and hiked down first and ended the hike going back to the top, which is what he prefers. I prefer to start going uphill and ending going downhill. Although I do see his logic of some of the downhill sections be dangerous and therefore better to go through first. Along the way the forest really felt magical. We saw several waterfalls from closeup and afar. We even crossed a suspension bridge. I was excited that my foot and back held up for the hike. It was energizing to be surrounded by such beautiful nature.

We also enjoyed walking along the New Plymouth Coastal Walkway several times. It is a 13.2 km walk although we did not walk it all in 1 day. It is mostly a paved walkway, with some areas of boardwalk or gravel trails. There are plenty of rest stops along the walk, which is always good for me. It gets a lot of use by both pedestrians and cyclists. Along with beautiful ocean views you can also cross the Te Rewa Rewa bridge which was designed to look like a wave breaking and a whale skeleton. The beach is a black sand beach which is fun to see. There were also several rock carving along the way.

My favorite meal was at a little place we stopped at on our way to Mt Taranaki. It was a mixed vegetable salad with several root veggies and grilled chicken. Simple but very yummy. In New Plymouth we frequented a Thai restaurant where it was easy to get healthy protein and vegetable meals. Not amazing but a reliable good meal.

We decided to leave Aokura a day early so we could see the hot springs in Rotorua and take go on the Hobiton tour.

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