Taranaki & Egmont National Park

From the caves we headed south to Taranaki, stopping at a small village called Mokau for a well deserved night's sleep. In the morning we woke up to an horrendous storm so we packed up in the lashing rain and headed down to New Plymouth in hope of better weather.

By the afternoon it had cleared up enough to enjoy a walk along the coastal track before heading to Stratford (at the edge of Egmont National Park), where we camped for the night.

The following morning we packed up camp early and drove to Dawson Falls at the base of Mt. Taranaki (see below). Thankfully the sun was shining and we were able to do a brilliant 4 hour circular walk at the base of the mountain. The walk included stunning views of the mountain and the Taranaki Plains, as well as an 'interesting' swing bridge.

By the time we had finished our walk and had a picnic it was getting late and we had a long drive ahead of us - next stop Wellington!