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New Plymouth District is an eclectic mix of diverse cultures, contemporary style and a traditional friendliness that has fashioned New Zealand since colonial times.
Boasting superb old architecture melded with up-to-the-minute design flavoured with modern art, the district is home to more than 70,000 people and includes many unique tourist attractions that make the city ‘like no other’.
The seaside city is centred around its bustling port and cultural core, ensuring it is fast becoming a destination of lifestyle for big-city dwellers keen to escape urban grind but retain all the best things in life.
From sophisticated high-rise apartments to quarter-acre sections overlooking breathtaking Tasman seascapes, New Plymouth is debonair yet down-to-earth, complete with a 7km award-winning coastal walkway running from Port Taranaki to the Waiwhakaiho River mouth, and one of New Zealand’s contemporary treasures in Puke Ariki, an innovative museum/library/information centre complex adjacent to the sea that has naturally become the city’s hub.
As well, the city is proud of its Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, for decades identified as one of the world’s most prestigious modern galleries. Home to kinetic artist Len Lye’s extensive collection, a superb example of his work can be found at Puke Ariki Landing, where the red 45m-tall wind wand bends and bows to the fickle sea breezes.
For a little bit of peace and solitude, Pukekura Park in central New Plymouth is a stunning example of an urban space developed over decades into a national icon. One of Taranaki’s Gardens of National Significance, the park is a 25ha haven of native bush with a glorious lake, adjacent to Brooklands Park with its natural amphitheatre music bowl and zoo.
In fact, the district boasts 16 parks and reserves, with 13 official beaches, four swimming pools, 60km of walkways and a myriad of other ‘tucked away’ spots for a period of quiet contemplation.
For a bit more action, try Devon St on a balmy summer’s night or wintry evening for dinner and nightclubbing. A range of bars suit every range of taste, and there are generally several choices of entertainment to choose from.
First populated by Maori in the early 14th century, New Plymouth was formally established and named by English immigrants in the 1840s. Once a primitive trading and whaling station unofficially begun by infamous pioneers John Love and Richard Barrett in 1828, the city enjoys a wide range of hotels, cafes, a movie complex and retail therapy to wear out most credit cards.
As well as New Plymouth, the district includes the towns of Oakura, Waitara, Inglewood, Lepperton, Tarata, Egmont Village and Urenui, which each offer a unique personality to visitors.
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