Taranaki is often missed off many people’s trips to Aotearoa, as it is a little out of the way. This, however, is a huge mistake as the area has a lot to offer and has been one of our favourites so far.
Taranaki mountain is an unmissable sight and the surrounding bushland offers many a great hike, stunning waterfall and plenty of snow opportunities in the winter. The food and drink scene is pretty awesome here with plenty of gin distilleries, craft breweries and fine dining options. There is also an abundance of cheap and free things to do here to keep your budget happy, too.
Make sure to time your trip to fit in all the best the region has to offer by planning in advance and checking dates for key events such as the Festival of Lights. But if you come in an off season, we have you covered with plenty of other things to do here with our top 10 free and cheap things to do in New Plymouth.
Be sure to check out our Instagram to see all our favourite things to do across Aotearoa!
Festival of Lights
We can’t quite believe that this one is free! Held every year for a summer and winter lights festival. Be sure to check the dates on the website here as they change slightly each year. We went to the summer lights festival on New Year’s Eve and loved the atmosphere and huge line up of free events and concerts for the occasion.
There are food trucks and plenty of spots for a picnic here, so you can spend the night enjoying the atmosphere and light displays. There is a freedom camp attached to Pukekura Park, which is the perfect spot to spend the night if you are living the vanlife too.
Dawson Falls & Wilkies Pools
Are you brave enough to take a plunge in the icy cold waters of Wilkies’ pool? There is a natural rock slide here that everyone talks about. We were too chicken to try the slide for fear of hurting something on the way down. We did, however, plunge into the icy depths of the pools.
Hike to the falls first, then follow the trail up to the Wilkies pools to cool off. If you live in a van like us, then you can freedom camp in the parking lot here. The walk to the pools is wonderful in the late afternoon when the crowds have gone home.
Have a Picnic at Hollard Gardens
Open all day, every day. These gardens are considered to be of national significance and a must visit for nature lovers and gardeners alike. The gardens were first established in 1927 as a private venture and are now owned and operated by the Taranaki council.
The gardens have a large variety of different planted areas, playgrounds, picnic areas and a gardening library in the visitors’ centre. We got a free cup of tea from the visitors’ centre and wondered the gardens for a while. It’s beautiful here and well worth taking your time immersing yourself in nature and seeing all the garden has to offer.
Pouakai Crossing Day Hike
This is a big day hike with plenty of steps. It’s still one of our absolute favourite day hikes we have done in Aotearoa to date. The views of Taranaki and out over the town to the ocean are incredible.
The best way to do the hike is to park your car at the end of the hike and catch one of the many transport options back to the start of the hike. We used Taranaki Mountain Shuttle. Just be sure to book it at least the day before you want to do the hike. For more info and tips on the hike, check out our blog post here.
Visit the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery
A quirky art gallery if ever there was one. There is a $15 admission fee if you aren’t from the region, but it’s worth it to spend half the day marvelling at the art here. The main display at this gallery focuses on the work of Len Lye. An artist from the region who really shaped and influenced the art here.
He is known for his kinetic sculptures and experimental film work. You’ll be able to view some of his pieces in the ever changing galleries and a few other feature exhibits on display.
Day Trip to Stratford
A cute town with a few quirky stores of its own. Our favourite place here was the gin and art gallery. We did a gin tasting and bought so much gin afterwards that they threw in a free bottle opener! The owner and gin maker ran the gin tasting and was great to chat to. All their gins have a story behind them and some are even Shakespeare themed!
Explore the City Centre
Whenever we are in a new town or city, we make sure to give ourselves time to wonder around the main shopping area. We love exploring the quirky shops, finding the odd gem in an op shop (charity shop) and Tiff loves to stumble across the indie bookstores.
Taranaki is no exception, and we had fun wondering the shopping area. We even found some hand made eye masks here at one of the cute indie shops. We recommend giving the chains a pass and just exploring the smaller shops run and owned by locals.
Walk/Ride Along the Coastal Walkway
At 13.2km long this award-winning walkway has a lot for you to see! Don’t worry, you don’t have to do it all if you don’t fancy spending the day on your bike. There are some shorter sections recommended on the New Plymouth website, as well as a map showing all the various access points.
We recommend including the section in front of the city centre itself to see all the sculptures here. If you end up doing the entire walkway, you’ll come across the famous Te Rewa Rewa Bridge.
That Bridge (Te Rewa Rewa Bridge)
We were so excited to take the classic photo of Taranaki framed by the bridge that everyone wants to take when they visit New Plymouth. After hearing construction work was to be carried out on the bridge in a couple of days, we changed our plans to make sure we’d be able to see the bridge and Taranaki together.
We biked out along the walkway and were sadly disappointed to see that even though work on the bridge was yet to actually start; they had already put up scaffolding, obstructing any views of the famous mountain. It was still a nice ride out there and the work is now finished for anyone else wanting to get ‘that’ photo.
Climb Paritutu Rock
Paritutu rock is the remains of a volcanic crater active about 1.75 million years ago. Standing at 156 meters tall, the climb up this rock isn’t for the faint of heart. If you brave the climb, you’ll be rewarded with stunning views out over the coast and city.
If heights aren’t your thing, we wouldn’t recommend tackling this rock climb. We aren’t joking. It really is more of a rock climb than a walk up a mountain. You’ll need both hands free to hoist yourself up the rock, holding on to metal chains as you go. Keep 3 points of contact at all times when climbing and you’ll be rewarded with the views shown above when you reach the top.
Keen for more inspo? Be sure to check out:
- Top 10 Things to do in Waikato
- Top 5 Free Things to do in Auckland
- 6 Unmissable Short Walks in Waikato
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