With the holidays fast approaching have you thought about venturing out and about in New Plymouth?

Back Beach is beautiful to wander along especially when the tide is out. The surfers are out in force when the winds are right; also hang gliders and, more commonly, para gliders float around on the thermal air coming off the high cliffs.

Paritutu Rock is an unusual place to clamber about. It is a portion of the outer rim of an extinct volcano.  The steep track up is graded hard. Make sure to allow lots of time for a rest at the top as there are amazing views in all directions - most certainly not for the faint hearted.

 Another lovely beach with a great playground is Ngamotu Beach. There are public toilets and barbecue facilities available.  You will also find the beam pump, which marks the site of Moturoa No. 4 oil well, drilled to a depth of 666 metres in 1931 and closed in 1972. The beam pump was erected by Shell BP and Todd Oil Services as a memorial to the pioneers of oil exploration in New Zealand.

Kawaroa Park is well known for its rock pools. Make sure to have sturdy footwear. Young and old have fun exploring the rock pools, seeing creatures up close and then putting them back into their homes.

The Aquatic Centre is a great place, summer or winter, rainy day or fine. There are family changing rooms available and also a shop for snacks. The heated indoor pool is a wave pool. It has a beach area, Tarzan rope, fountains and an inflatable playground during the weekends and public holidays. The complex also has a spa pool, tots’ pool, a steam room and a sauna. Outside there is a 50-metre diving pool, as well as toddlers’ and learners’ pools. The main outside attractions are the hydroslides.

A recent addition to New Plymouth is the Foreshore Walkway. You can walk from Back Beach right out to the Waiwhakaiho River Mouth, an approximate distance of seven kilometres. The walk can be started from many points depending on time restraints. 

The Wind Wand, located on the foreshore near Puke Ariki Landing, is an amazing 45-metre-tall piece of art work. The Wind Wand has a clear plastic globe that is two metres in diameter and can bend approximately 20 metres in any direction.

If the walk is daunting, you can hire a Wind Wanderer bike and pedal along with the help of three of your friends.  windwanderers@gmail.com. Another alternative is to hire a bike from Cycle Inn and go exploring.

Puke Ariki is where the library, museum and visitor information centre can be found. The Activity Centre has a variety of exhibitions with many having interactive activities - a fun place for young and old to go exploring.  www.newplymouthnz.com  or info@newplymouth.govt.nz

Next to Puke Ariki is Richmond Cottage. Built in 1853-54 as a family home, it was formally opened to the public on 13 March 1963. The cottage has a category 1 listing with the NZ Historic Places. Selected original artefacts associated with those who lived there are on display. For opening hours contact the Visitor Information Centre.

New Plymouth is lucky to have many zoos and animal parks. 

Brooklands Zoo is a great experience for the children. You can enjoy a close-up encounter with the cotton-top tamarins, watch the otters and capuchin monkeys at play, walk through the free-flight aviary, handle the baby farm animals and pat the larger animals. There is a huge playground with a picnic area.

Near the main entrance to Pukekura Park is a scale model, steam-train and railway. For a gold coin donation the children can have a coal-fired steam-train ride. The trains run from 2 – 4pm every Sunday and extra hours during the Christmas holidays. It also runs in the evenings during the Festival of Lights.

A few minutes' drive from the shops is Pouakai Zoo Park - a wonderful place for children and adults alike to have a close look at lions, zebras, monkeys and llamas, to name a few of the animals kept there. 

Heading south, located between New Plymouth and Egmont Village, is Lake Mangamahoe. It has many walkways and even a wonderful lookout point to view the whole lake. If you are lucky you might get a spectacular view of the mountain. Weather permitting, it’s a great place to have a picnic lunch.

There are two walks:-

-          Lake Circuit Walk – 6km – 2 hours – Med/Hard

-          Forest Walk – 3km – 90 minutes – Med/Hard

There are tracks suitable for mountain biking, walking or running. Fly fishing is the only type of fishing permitted.

Across the road from the Lake is TATATM (Taranaki Aviation Transport and Technology Museum).  There is a large collection of farming and dairy equipment, vehicles, aircraft, household objects, marine and other items of interest.  http://tatatm.tripod.com/museum/index.html

The North Egmont Visitor Centre is worth the 25-minute drive from New Plymouth with spectacular views back over New Plymouth along the coastline. Enjoy a few of the short walks or sit back and enjoy a snack at the café.

In Inglewood there is the Fun Ho National Toy Museum. There are hundreds of miniature lead models purchased from 1935 – 45.  They also have a huge range of aluminium toys. Some of the toys are available for sale and you can purchase spare parts for those forgotten toys of your childhood or, if you need there is a repair shop available.  A large working model train set is also on display. A regular newsletter is published for collectors. funhotoys@funho.com

A few minutes' drive out of Inglewood, the children are allowed to get in among farm animals at Stoney Oaks. They have a cow, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs, goats, possums, highland cattle and fallow deer.  There are thar, yaks, chinchillas, donkeys, miniature horses, ostriches, emus, Jacob-patterned sheep, llamas, alpacas and Boris the eel. There is a bush walk and black swans on a small lake where you can row a boat. A recent addition is “The Barn” accommodation, which overlooks the farm and pond.  www.rarebreeds.co.nz

One travel tip – based on experience — when leaving the house always have a complete change of clothes and a plastic bag to contain the wet/dirty clothes. Other essential items are food and drink. You can guarantee as soon as you leave home, someone will be hungry or thirsty.

Of course, these are only a few of the attractions available. Contact the local Information Centre for full listings.