American Elms, English Ash, Cycad Vegetation

We did some gardens.  After coffee and a scone, we set off to the outskirts of New Plymouth for a visit to Tupare.  The gardens here were, in the 1930s, part of a private residence of a local industrialist.  By the 1950s the family was opening to the public on certain days for tours.  Nowadays it’s managed by the local council and is open to the public.  Every day.  For free.  God bless New Zealand.

 

The gardens tend to English formality, tiered around a primary residence, tennis court and cottage.  Beneath the gardens lies a beautiful expanse of green, and the Waiwhakaiho River, with hardwood and ferns rising up the banks.  We were a few weeks too late to see the hydrangea in full bore, but it was still a gorgeous stroll.  And, get this: We were the only one’s there.  Not one single visitor. Did I mention it was free?

In the centre of the gardens the gardener’s cottage has been made into a museum from back in the day.  Open to the public, not staffed.  I first took a few pics through the windows, assuming it could never be wide open to anyone and everyone, then walked around the exterior and found the door open.  It was like the 1960s in Canada.  Not a single homeless person camped out, not a single vandal or even a sign of vandalism.  Dear Donald Trump: Want to really make a difference?  Have schools teach civics again.

After a good walkabout we booted up the Toyota and drove about 30 minutes towards Mt. Taranaki again, this time to visit Pukeiti, a garden envisaged (back in the day) as a perfect environment for rhododendrons.  In fact, it is one of the largest gardens of rhodies on the planet.  And when you take the walk to the “valley of the giants” you are not en route to large conifers but massive rhododendrons, of the sort found in the Himalayas.  Although cultivated and curated in some spots, most of Pukeita is sensationally wild, somewhere between a Jurassic Park set piece and a Dr. Seuss imagined forest.

After our two garden excursions we started back to the coast.  Clouds rolled in and it rained.  We had a wonderful lunch on the surf highway at a placed called The Bach, then made our way to the hotel, did some laundry, walked a bit more, and went out for dinner.  We discovered a yakitori place in a renovated bar of a heritage hotel, Snug Lounge.  Surprisingly good food.