Taranaki, the parking and the park

Day 32 - 10/12/23

We actually wanted to climb the south face of Taranaki today.

However, the weather put a damper on our plans here and so we were able to leave the ice ax and rope at home. Nevertheless, we learned a lot in the Visitor Center - including how much effort is being made to educate and inspire children of primary school age to respect and love nature. In the film we were able to see how kiwis were released into the wild and how invasive species threaten the local flora and fauna.

We also had to park there to stroll around the city and the parking system is both simple and modern. You can often park for free for a certain number of minutes, as stated on the signs at the beginning of the parking zones. This is not checked with a parking disc but with a chalk mark that the inspectors put on the tires - the beginning of the check, so to speak. If you park at a parking meter, it works like it does for us, but you don't get a piece of paper to put in your car, instead you enter the number of the parking space where your car is. By entering this number into the parking machine, the inspector can then see what remaining parking time the vehicle has left. Kind of awesome - saves paper, toner etc.

After Capu/Latte we visited the park. Normally I'm not much of a park freak but I have to admit that this park - in the middle of the city - is great and I have to give the city's frontiers really high marks. In general, we really liked the city and atmosphere in New Plymouth.