December 19th: Auckland to New Plymouth |
Journal Entry:
A Mostly Scenic Day
After a short breakfast on Queen's street in downtown Auckland, we decided I would be spending plenty of time in Auckland come the start of my class on the 29th, and planned a trip to see the rest of the island. Our trip went down the West coast of the north island to do a round-about of the country around the coasts since class will head down the center. We started off immediately heading toward New Plymouth. Our route is seen on the map. The country here is gorgeous. New Zealand truly is a jewel to the world. The hills and mountains are covered in vegetation as green as the hills of Oregon. The roads were windy the dense forestry has taken a profound effect on the development of the land. The western coast is packed with lush ground perfect for the farming communities who have set up ranches of sheep and dairy Cows. |
A map of our pre-class round robin around the north island.
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My First black Sand Beach!
While we were driving, about half way to New Plymouth the road turned directly on to the west coast line. The road followed a bank of vegetation teasing the view and covering the ocean. I had never seen an ocean save for a small bay in Thailand I don't count so I was giddy with anticipation...It kept its distance, just out of view until the big reveal!
The ocean's waves were maybe 2 or 3 feet high crashing on the water. The misty view of Taranaki hung to the left and the beach's black sand was almost entrancing, with various shades of dark grey to the purest of black pounded down into a near liquid consistency. A lot of drift wood remained on the coast and the shells and pebbles were scattered somewhat haphazardly over the place, but the view of the wide oceanic expanse brought tears to my eyes. Truly worthwhile, and impressive - a black sand beach.
While we were driving, about half way to New Plymouth the road turned directly on to the west coast line. The road followed a bank of vegetation teasing the view and covering the ocean. I had never seen an ocean save for a small bay in Thailand I don't count so I was giddy with anticipation...It kept its distance, just out of view until the big reveal!
The ocean's waves were maybe 2 or 3 feet high crashing on the water. The misty view of Taranaki hung to the left and the beach's black sand was almost entrancing, with various shades of dark grey to the purest of black pounded down into a near liquid consistency. A lot of drift wood remained on the coast and the shells and pebbles were scattered somewhat haphazardly over the place, but the view of the wide oceanic expanse brought tears to my eyes. Truly worthwhile, and impressive - a black sand beach.
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Arriving New Plymouth - Overwhelming Christmas Culture despite warm climate and no snow.
Coming in to New Plymouth our first priority was dinner and our second was Lodging. We found a place to stay via AirBnB and were very surprised by what we found. Our host's home was in an affluent section of the city just north of the pier in New Plymouth with a beautiful view.
From the house we could see the old lighthouse tower, the Lyn Lye wind wand, and Plymouth rock. According to our host you could also see Mt. Taranaki on the south side, but it was too dark to see it really. Regardless it was a ritzy place with newly built million dollar homes.
While there she told us that the “Christmas Lights” neighborhood festival was going on and a competition was brewing. I was perplexed to see the celebration of Christmas in their area as all of the shops were covered in snowmen and snowflakes decorations, but the snow was non-existent save for the top of Taranaki. We decided to venture out and see the lights in the neighborhood anyway and were...floored.
Coming in to New Plymouth our first priority was dinner and our second was Lodging. We found a place to stay via AirBnB and were very surprised by what we found. Our host's home was in an affluent section of the city just north of the pier in New Plymouth with a beautiful view.
From the house we could see the old lighthouse tower, the Lyn Lye wind wand, and Plymouth rock. According to our host you could also see Mt. Taranaki on the south side, but it was too dark to see it really. Regardless it was a ritzy place with newly built million dollar homes.
While there she told us that the “Christmas Lights” neighborhood festival was going on and a competition was brewing. I was perplexed to see the celebration of Christmas in their area as all of the shops were covered in snowmen and snowflakes decorations, but the snow was non-existent save for the top of Taranaki. We decided to venture out and see the lights in the neighborhood anyway and were...floored.
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I am assuming the status symbol of how much you celebrate Christmas is alive and well here. That said however the lights were dazzling. One of the houses opened his gates to us and allowed us to walk in and view them all (pictured above). One of them had an animatronic baby manger that seemed custom made and it rocked. It had lights all over reading out "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year". It had an entire snow man built out of the scant branches of the trees. A quick conversation with several of the locals suggested he started decorating for Christmas earlier and earlier every year, coming up to Halloween by this moment.