New Plymouth

Last night was spent at the NZMCA park in New Plymouth and we did not do much sight seeing before coming here – just went to the information centre and then for a short walk along the waterfront. The NZMCA park was in the southern part of the city alongside the Huatoki track. The park itself was all grass and there was evidence of other vehicles having been stuck in its softness, so we parked on the only bit of hard we could see alongside the driveway. It was slightly unconventional parking but there were only 3  vehicles there so we were not inconveniencing anyone.

Before settling in for the night we took the dogs for a walk along the Huatoki track for a way. The track runs through bush alongside the Huatoki Stream which was engorged and rushing swiftly due to the recent rains. This waterway though was fairly clear – not all muddy and horrible like all the other waterways we had seen.  Once the track became little more than a narrow dirt path we turned back and headed up an accessway – a sealed road behind a locked gate (but with pedestrian access) which ended up at the New Plymouth Pony Club. It was a delightful walk with bush on each side. Once we got to the fields grazing horses we turned back for the motorhome.

Over night there was more heavy rain but that had no adverse effects for Hunter so we would have all had a peaceful night if Bruce had not had a touch of diarrhoea.

The next morning we headed back into the city centre with the biggest goal to be to visit the Len Lye exhibition. There are no parking areas suitable for motorhomes so it took a little time to find a suitable place to park. Then came the challenge of finding enough change to feed the meters –  but we got there and walked to the spectacular Govett Brester Building that houses the gallery. Bruce was fascinated with the stainless steel exterior and its mirror-like finish. How does it keep so clean?

The work of Len Lye was fascinating, with his kinetic sculptures, but I could not really relate to the film that he made as art. I did enjoy his sculptures though, particularly the one made of metal circles of different sizes, with the smallest being his wife’s wedding ring, so I’m not sure what his wife thought of that!

The wind wand in New Plymouth was also designed by Len Lye. We expected it to move quite a lot given the windy, stormy weather we experienced in the city, but it did not seem to. At night there is a light at the top but we were not there to see that.

There was also another exhibition by the resident artist Sriwhana Spong who was clearly thinking outside the square eg. a set of musical chimes made from aluminium casts of french fries! She also painted a picture of a sheet of music using honey that then dribbled down the wall and onto the floor. I must be getting old because I really can’t relate to that!

After leaving the gallery we went back to the motor home and collected the dogs for a walk along the water front. We walked for about 20 minutes each way and enjoyed the scenery of the wild ocean.

All through out the day the weather was blustery with showers on a frequent basis so we were lucky to get our walk in without getting wet. We did not want to stretch our luck by going through some of the lovely gardens or parks in New Plymouth, so we decided to head on south and made our way towards Inglewood.