Cycling in New Plymouth

Monday 16 March
After settling in at the camping ground with our fabulous view out over the ocean, and after lunch, we biked off into town along the walk/cycle way. It is just 1.5kms. We had a look around the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery – one of the countries leading modern art gallery. There was a fabulous bit of engineering/art by Len Lye – a kinetic stainless steel thing. And there was a lovely big screen film of a hundred sheep being moved across a green hillside by a man with three dogs. They go off the right side of the screen, only to reappear from the left side. They probably went around all day, but I didn’t watch all day. There were other things that must have been very modern – we struggled to figure what they were about. We headed on to the supermarket, and then back “home” along the cycleway. We enjoyed tea outside, BBQd steak and onions and mushrooms with new spuds, and then enjoyed a fabulous sunset – a wonderful evening.
Cycling the Cycleway Tuesday 17 March
Wyn was keen on some baking, we’d got a teacake recipe from my sister. So she took advantage of the camp oven and baked one up. It was a beautiful day with not much wind. We wanted to explore the walkway, so biked right along it to the north end, about 6kms. It gets lots of use at all times of the day from a wide cross-section of people, including lots of oldies. We carried on a bit further to Lake Rotomanu, before starting back. There was a Big Wave Cafe in a caravan thing which seduced us with icecreams and coffee – the icecreams at a table that was a surfboard, the coffees in old armchairs overlooking the ocean. Tea was snapper and chips at the excellent fish and chip shop down by the breakwater, just below the camp. We enjoyed the snapper so much we had to have second helpings. There was another beautiful sunset. Perfect setting, perfect day…