Destination Guides > New Zealand > Taranaki

Taranaki

Taranaki comprises the western tip of the North Island, which is dominated by the snow-capped cone of Mount Taranaki (also known as Mount Egmont). New Plymouth is the main centre of this dairy farming region, which is also home to some great surf beaches.

New Plymouth

This is the major centre in the Taranaki region and is a very pleasant city with nice parks and open spaces and the newly opened Puke Ariki museum. New Plymouth has a great location with ski slopes and great surf beaches within a one-hour drive of the city centre.

New Plymouth is off the beaten track and none of the three main backpackers buses come here. The city doesn't attract many travellers, which is a pity as it is one of New Zealand's most underrated places.

Practical Information

Visitor Information Centre

Puke Ariki, 65 St Aubyn Street, New Plymouth

Tel (06) 759 6060

Website www.taranakinz.org

Open Mon-Tue 9am-6pm, Wed 9am-9pm, Thu-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat-Sun 9am-5pm

Department of Conservation

220 Devon Street West, New Plymouth

Tel (06) 758 0433
Website www.doc.govt.nz

Open Mon-Fri 8am-4.30pm

Coming & Going

AIR

New Plymouth Airport has several daily flights by Origin Pacific and Air New Zealand to Auckland and Wellington and a couple of Sun Air flights each week to Hamilton and Tauranga. Withers Coachlines (tel 0800 751 177; website www.withers.co.nz) run an airport shuttle service that can pick up and drop off at your hostel.

BUS

InterCity coaches stop at the corner of King and Queen Streets. White Star (tel (06) 758 3338) operates daily coach services to Wanganui, Palmerston North and Wellington.

The Mount Egmont/Taranaki Shuttle (tel (06) 758 3222) runs a daily service between New Plymouth and the North Egmont Visitor Centre. The fare is $25 one-way or $35 return.

Withers Coachlines (tel 0800 751 177; website www.withers.co.nz) also run a daily mountain shuttle service from New Plymouth. The return fare is usually $32, but it can cost up to $100 if you're the only one on the bus.

Hitchhikers should try their luck on State Highway 3.

Accommodation

Egmont Eco-Lodge YHA

12 Clawton Street, New Plymouth

Tel (06) 753 5720

Shoestring Backpackers

48 Lemon Street, New Plymouth

Tel (06) 758 0404

Sunflower Lodge

25 Ariki Street, New Plymouth

Tel (06) 759 0050

Wave Haven Backpackers

1518 Main Road, Oakura

Tel (06) 752 7800

Sights

Govett-Brewster Art Gallery

This excellent contemporary art museum combines a permanent collection with a variety of temporary exhibitions. It is an impressive gallery for such a small city.

Queen Street, New Plymouth

Tel (06) 758 5149

Website www.govettbrewster.org.nz

Admission free

Open 10.30am-5pm daily

Puke Ariki

This brilliant museum is the city's top attraction. It features excellent displays on the region's geological and cultural history.

1 Ariki Street, New Plymouth

Tel (06) 759 6060

Website www.pukeariki.com

Admission free

Open Mon-Tue 9am-6pm, Wed 9am-9pm, Thu-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat-Sun 9am-5pm

Egmont National Park

New Zealand's second national park is centred on Mount Taranaki (Mount Egmont), which towers above the surrounding farmland. The mountain is one of the country's most striking maintaining its snow-capped crater year round. Although hiking trails in the national park are popular, treks up the mountain shouldn't be taken lightly if you are not an experienced mountaineer, as Mount Taranaki is New Zealand's most dangerous mountain. It has claimed the lives of more than 60 people over the years.

If you don't feel like climbing to the summit, there are plenty of shorter walks, many of which are just 30 minutes long.

Practical Information

Dawson Falls Visitor Centre

Manaia Road, Kaponga

Tel 025 430 248

Open summer 8am-4.30pm daily; winter Wed-Sun 8.30am-4.30pm

North Egmont Visitor Centre

Egmont Road, Inglewood

Tel (06) 756 0990

Open 8am-4.30pm daily

Coming & Going

The Mount Egmont/Taranaki Shuttle (tel (06) 758 3222) runs a daily service between New Plymouth and the North Egmont Visitor Centre. The fare is $25 one-way or $35 return.

Withers Coachlines (tel 0800 751 177; website www.withers.co.nz) also run a daily mountain shuttle service from New Plymouth. The return fare is usually $32, but it can cost up to $100 if you're the only one on the bus.

Accommodation

Most people visiting Egmont National Park stay in Egmont Village or drive up from Stratford or New Plymouth

The Camphouse

Egmont Road, RD6, Mt Taranaki

Tel (06) 752 2550

The Missing Leg

State Highway 3, Egmont Village

Tel (06) 752 2570

Hiking

Egmont National Park has over 140km of hiking trails including multi-day hikes around the mountain and the popular, and often dangerous, one-day climb.

Climbing Mount Egmont/Taranaki

One of the most popular activities in the park involves climbing Mount Egmont/Taranaki, however it is dangerous and over 60 people have died attempting it. The best time to climb is between February and April when there is very little snow on the mountain. The ascent can be done in one day with the return climb taking around eight hours.

There are several routes to the summit with the most popular departing from the North Egmont Visitor Centre.

It is recommended that inexperienced hikers go along with a guide. Ian MacAlpine (tel (06) 765 6234; website www.macalpineguides.com) and Taranaki Outdoor Professionals (tel 0800 448433; website www.topguides.co.nz) conduct guided climbs of the mountain.

Around the Mountain Circuit

This popular five-day walk circles the mountain and during summer there is a shorter three-day version at a higher altitude. There are huts located at one-day intervals along the track.

Dawson Falls

The 16.5m high Dawson Falls are a 20-minute walk from the Dawson Falls visitor centre.

Stratford

Stratford is the closest major town to Egmont National Park and some travellers use the town as a base for visiting the park.

Practical Information

Visitor Information Centre

Prospero Place, Broadway, Stratford

Tel (06) 765 6708 or 0800 765 6708

Website www.stratfordnz.co.nz

Open Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-3.30pm

Department of Conservation

Pembroke Road, Stratford

Tel (06) 765 5144

Website www.doc.govt.nz

Open Mon-Fri 8am-4.30pm

Coming & Going

The Visitor Information Centre serves as Stratford's coach stop. InterCity coaches go to Auckland, New Plymouth, Wanganui and Wellington and Dalroy Express (tel (06) 755 0009) coaches go to Auckland and Hawera.

Accommodation

Stratford Top 10 Holiday Park

10 Page Street, Stratford

Tel (06) 765 6440

Taranaki Accommodation Lodge

7 Romeo Street, Stratford

Tel (06) 765 5444

Sights

Glockenspiel

Stratford's Tudor-style clock tower is home to New Zealand's only glockenspiel, which features six figures of Romeo and Juliet and performs for five minutes daily at 10am, 1pm and 3pm.

Broadway, Stratford

Taranaki Pioneer Village

This open-air museum features 50 historic buildings depicting life 100 years ago.

3912 Main South Road, Stratford

Tel (06) 765 5399

Website www.stratfordnz.info/PioneerVillage/

Admission $7

Open 10am-4pm daily

Hawera

This small town serves the surrounding dairy farms and is the gateway to the southern Taranaki region.

The town's name is Māori for ‘the burnt place' and it has suffered the wrath of four major fires. After a particularly devastating fire in 1912, insurance companies demanded that a water tower be erected as a fire-fighting reservoir. The tower was completed in 1914 and remains the town's major landmark.

Practical Information

Visitor Information Centre

55 High Street, Hawera

Tel (06) 278 8599

Open Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-3pm

Coming & Going

InterCity and Dalroy Express coaches stop outside the information centre on High Street.

Accommodation

Wheatly Downs Farmstay Backpackers

46 Ararata Road, 8km north of Hawera

Tel (06) 278 6523

Sights

Dairyland

Fonterra, the huge dairy company that accounts for 7% of New Zealand's GDP, operates this dairy industry display centre that features interactive displays, life-size models and simulated tanker rides to illustrate milk's journey from cow to customer.

Corner Whareroa Road & State Highway 3, Hawera

Tel (06) 278 4537

Website www.fonterra.com

Admission $3

Open 9am-5pm daily

Tawhiti Museum

Many people regard Tawhiti Museum as New Zealand's best small privately run museum. It uses brilliant dioramas to cover the history of South Taranaki.

401 Ohangi Road, Hawera

Tel (06) 278 6837

Website www.tawhitimuseum.co.nz

Admission $6.50

Open Jan 10am-4pm daily; Feb-May Fri-Mon 10am-4pm; Jun-Aug Sun 10am-4pm; Sep-Dec Fri-Mon 10am-4pm

Activities

Dam Dropping

One of the craziest things you can do in New Zealand is to sledge the world's highest commercially sledged hydro dam. The Kaitiaki Adventures Dam Dropping trip involves sledging over an eight-metre waterfall and then spending around three hours sledging on the Waingongoro River. One of the attractions of white water sledging (compared with white water rafting) is that you are in control of a buoyant and highly manoeuvrable water sledge rather than being guided on a raft.

Kaitiaki Adventures, Surf Highway, Hawera

Tel (06) 278 4452

Website www.kaitiaki.co.nz

Dam drop only $40; full trip $80; full trip with t-shirt $100