So for the past few days I've been in volcano land. Leaving Wellington I headed north west to the town of New Plymouth.Theres not much surrounding New Plymouth and thats why the one thing they do have REALLY sticks out. The huge volcano Taranaki, looms over everywhere in the area. You can see it from miles away. My first glimpse of it came when I was 2 hours away on the bus. It's also almost a mirror image of Mt. Fuji in Japan. Ever see the last samurai? That is in actual fact Mt Taranaki they use instead of Fuji. Cheaters eh? Now you'd think that my reason for going to this area would be to go tramping off up the mountain wouldn't you? Well no, I decided against that. It was costing like 60 quid for the bus to get to the mountain so I did some coastal walk instead. And while on the coastal walk i spotted a hill. I thought, hey I can just go up that one, thats not too far. 4 hours later I reach the top. I look back and curse myself several times. Now on my list of things I must not do; Walk for hours with no thought of the return trip. (other things include shaking my fist at products in shops).
The area was pretty nice although it was tough for me because it was almost 30 degrees for the few days I was there and as most of you know I don't get on too well with Mr. Sun.
Just happened to be there in the middle of the 'Festival of the lights' too. Which was a happy coincidence. I loved it. The festival of the lights is a summer festival they hold in New Plymouth from mid December to the end of January. Basically they fit their local park, with hundreds of different lights and display and then light them up after dark. It may not sound like much here but there's an undeniable magical quality as you wander around the park. Waterfalls and fountains fitted with alternating lights and boats with lighted 'halos' gliding( I would like to say gliding peacefully but unfortunately most were manned by young children, much to the dismay of couples who decided to take a boat for a romantic moment) around the lake. The reflection of the light off the lake is pretty dazzling too. Quite hard to take pictures of these things unfortunately so mine don't really do it justice...
