Leisure Time Travel: New Plymouth Festival of Lights

After breakfast this morning, begin your day by travelling south to Stratford. Stratford is located in the heart of Taranaki and is the gateway to Mount Taranaki and Egmont National Park. It is known for its Shakespearean theme and stunning parks and gardens. View Stratford’s glockenspiel which is unique in New Zealand. The glockenspiel plays a scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet four times daily (at 10am, 1pm, 3pm and 7pm) with figures made by the curator of the Tawhiti Museum, Nigel Ogle. The glockenspiel performs for approximately five minutes after the hour chimes are finished. After viewing the glockenspiel, travel to Hāwera to visit the Tawhiti Museum - an impressive visual history of South Taranaki. Tawhiti Museum is a truly unique enterprise and the creation of artist Nigel Ogle; its attention to detail is simply stunning. Widely acclaimed as the best private museum in the country, the museum uses life-size exhibits and scale models to present our heritage in a series of super realistic and engaging displays. All of these displays are designed and built on the premises in the ‘Body Shop’ and accompanying studio. Then travel back to New Plymouth via Surf Highway 45. Dine in the hotel restaurant tonight.

Enjoy a leisurely start to the day as it will be a late night tonight. There will be time in the morning for those who wish to visit the local shops. Puke Ariki, with its museum, heritage site and Information Centre is also worthwhile visiting or just enjoy a walk along the coastal boardwalk to admire the Wind Wand sculpture. Reconvene with the group in the early afternoon to visit Pukeiti Gardens. Boasting more than 10,000 rhododendrons and azaleas amongst lush native bush, ferns, mountain streams and a lively bird life, Pukeiti features drifts of primulas, hostas, bluebells and the world-renowned vireya collection, to provide year-round interest. Here, enjoy a guided tour of the garden to learn Pukeiti’s stories and secrets and see it through the eyes of a gardener during the one-hour tour. After dinner tonight, venture out to see the TSB Bank Festival of Lights, where New Plymouth’s gem, Pukekura Park will be transformed into a wonderland of lights! Fluorescent pebble paths sparkle beneath excited feet, majestic trees and plants glow, and waterfalls and lakes shimmer and shine beneath thousands of lights. There will be plenty of time to explore the lights at your own pace as you make your way through Pukekura Park.

This morning, depart New Plymouth for your return journey following State Highway 3, travelling through lush forest and over Mount Messenger and through the Awakino Gorge. Head inland and pass through the King Country towns of Piopio, Te Kūiti and Ōtorohanga before arriving back in Hamilton.