Mt. Taranaki and Egmont National Park

We spent the next 7 days in the National Park around Mt. Taranaki.

Mt. Taranakti is a volcano that has not erupted since 1755. So you can be completely calm in its vicinity, although all researchers are just waiting for the next eruption.

We started our Taranaki region exploration in Opunake, then went through Stratfort to New Plymouth, then back to Stadtford, from where we drove along Surf Highway 45 and eventually ended up in New Plymouth.

The Surf Highway gets its name because every road that leads off the highway actually leads to the sea and a beach where you can surf. There, we visited not only the many beautiful beaches, but also other attractions such as a lighthouse with a great view of Mt. Taranaki or an old shipwreck. Back in New Plymouth, we went to the museum where it was beautiful. There is an exhibition about the Maori history of the region and the formation of Mt. Taranaki and the landscape as we find it today. There was also a dinosaur exhibition that can only be seen there for 2 months. We took a short hike towards the volcano. We haven't done the long hike yet, it simply takes 6 hours and should be done in one day, i.e. 12 hours uphill and downhill. We are reasonably fit, but we are not super fit to do something like that now. The goal is to do this tour at the end of our North Island journey. We also climbed a small steep mountain in New Plymouth. Unfortunately, I twisted my knee and sprained it. Thank you dear mom for sending me a new tape for my birthday, I can really use it now. We enjoyed the view of the sea and the beaches. Unfortunately, it's autumn and it rains from time to time...