4 Best Sights in New Plymouth, North Island's West Coast

Established by the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust, these 900 acres of lush, native rain forest are surrounded by farmland. The Pukeiti (poo-ke-ee-tee) collection of 2,500 varieties of rhododendrons is the largest in New Zealand. Many were first grown here, such as the giant winter-blooming R. protistum var. giganteum, collected from seed in 1953 and now standing 15 feet tall, and the delightful Lemon Lodge and Spring Honey hybrids, which bloom in spring. Kyawi, a large red "rhodo," is the last to bloom, in April (autumn). Rhododendrons aside, there are many other rare and special plants here. All winter long the Himalayan daphnes fragrance the pathways. Spring-to-summer-growing candelabra primroses reach up to 4 feet; and, for a month around Christmas, spectacular 8-foot Himalayan cardiocrinum lilies bear heavenly scented, 12-inch, white trumpet flowers. There’s a classy café on site and a self-guided Kids Treehouse Trail. Located 20 km (12½ miles) southwest of New Plymouth's center, Pukeiti is also a wonderful bird habitat.

Step out of the city and onto the coast by taking a stroll or cycle along this gentle coastal path, which meanders for 13 km (8 miles), from Port Taranaki to Hickford Park (a rugby and bike park). It explores beaches and playgrounds, crosses rivers, passes by a golf course, and runs beneath the Wind Wand, a sculpture almost as iconic to New Plymouth residents as the Statue of Liberty is to New Yorkers. Created by the late New Zealand artist Len Lye, the red carbon-fiber tube stands 148 feet high and, like a conductor's baton, dances in the wind as Lye's tribute to what he called "tangible motion." Leaving the city confines the walkway crosses the startling white Te Rewa Rewa Bridge (Mt. Taranaki framed in the bridge's struts makes a great photo) into farmland and past the Waipu Lagoons, a wetland reserve.

Together the lawns, lakes, gardens, and woodlands of these connected parks make up a 128-acre urban oasis. Each summer evening the Festival of Lights transforms the gardens and giant trees of Pukekura Park (annually from mid-December through January and during the March WOMAD Festival). Rowboats can be rented to explore the small islands and nooks and crannies of the main lake. The park also has massive botanical display houses and a fernery in caverns carved out of the hillside. The adjoining Brooklands Park is known for its ancient rain forest and exotic trees, such as giant copper beeches, pines, walnuts, and oaks. The Monterey pine, magnolia soulangeana, ginkgo, and native karaka and kohekohe here are the largest of their kind in New Zealand. A giant puriri tree is believed to be more than 2,000 years old. Brooklands is also home to the hugely popular Bowl of Brooklands, a natural amphitheater used for concerts and events, including international acts. Brooklands Zoo has farm animals, meerkats, monkeys, and an aviary.