New Plymouth

We left our beachside campground at 9:15. A few minutes down the road, we saw a sign for an organic brewery. They opened at 10:00, but we though we’d make a cup of tea in the parking lot until they opened. It’s not very often that you find organic beer. The owner didn’t mind that we were early and welcomed us in. The ex-Rhodesian told me all about the ancient process he used to brew the beer and let me try the Mike’s Soft Ale, and the Mike’s Lager. Both were incredible.

He was also selling some berry wine, which is made down the road. He suggested we stop by the winery on the way into town. Since we’d already had beer before 10:00, why not indulge in some berry wine? The boysenberry red was our favorite, but I liked the green ginger also. Amy thought it was a little too sweet. The owner of the winery recommended a holiday park in the middle of town; a good way to checkout downtown New Plymouth.

The holiday park was right on the water near downtown, but we’ve been finding the holiday parks rather depressing lately. They’re convenient, but expensive. This place was NZ$47 a night (about US$45). It’s easy to pull into a holiday park with everything you need right there, but much more fulfilling to seek out something more interesting. At the organic store down the road, Amy read a notice that invited anyone to checkout an eco-community just outside town.
The next morning we drove outside New Plymouth up the hill into the bush to the dwellings of Katikara Eco Community. Getting the caravan up the driveway was a challenge.


Through the cloud of dust and vaporized clutch, we saw a Maori face laughing at our boisterous entrance. We were told to look for Des, who greeted us with a big smile. He was quite happy to have the interference.

After we setup the van, hung our laundry, and ate some lunch, Des enthusiastically showed us around.


This is the community house…


The place was overgrown with blackberry bushes. Quinne picked blackberries until her heart was content.


Beck learned how to pick blackberries also and needed his nappy changed several times soon thereafter.


Des explained that they were trying to get the place back in shape after it had been neglected for a while.
It was interesting to hear from a Maori about their point of view and customs etc.. He introduced us to Soraya, who also taught us some Maori words and customs. Soraya and Ross, her partner, joined us for dinner. Amy cooked a wonderful meal topped with the most delicious blackberry crumble from the delicious blackberries Quinne picked. The berry wine was the perfect compliment.




NZ is in the midst of a serious 30-year drought. The normally lush green fields are now dry and brown. The farmers are complaining bitterly. The poor sheep and cows hang their head down to the dry grass trying to extract whatever nutrients are left in the crispy grass. They’re not setup to irrigate in most areas of NZ, so that’s not an option. The dry and hot weather came to an end here yesterday with some cloud relief and rain last night. It rained hard through the night and is drizzling today. We had our hearts set on visiting the farmers market in New Plymouth despite the rain. We really enjoyed being at a farmers market with delicious fruit, veggies, and grains.

We stopped in across the street at the magnificent library where they had a Maori dance workshop. Oliver and Beck learned the haka, while Amy and Quinne learned a poi dance. At the end, we showed off what we learned for each other.