Great Coffee, Surf and Hikes: How to Spend a Weekend in New Plymouth

When traveling, if you’re someone that’s more interested in doing your own thing, rather than heading with the throngs of other tourists to the most bustling destinations, New Plymouth is the place for you. Do you love good coffee, awesome surf, contemporary art, and sick mountain trails? I have spent time in the more popular and less unpopular tourist spots across New Zealand. I can definitely say that New Plymouth, although it is a less popular tourist spot, is worth a weekend visit. If you only have two days, I’ve picked out my favorite things to do in New Plymouth. After spending six weeks there, I felt I had ample time to discover exciting parts and tastes of Taranaki. This post provides a more general guide to New Plymouth. But if you are looking for something more personal, I wrote about the personal aspects of living in Taranaki for six weeks here.

Saturday: Epic Coffee, Art & Mt Egmont

Head on over to the CBD and make your first stop Jetcharm coffee and barbershop. With delicious beans supplied from Escape coffee, Jetcharm’s drinks are delicious. This is a great first-stop as it is right in the middle of the CBD. You can mosey down Devon street and head to the Coastal Walkway. There’s lots of cool street art in the CBD, make sure to walk down alleyways to find some of it!

If you are interested in art or museums, Puke Ariki pretty informative and aesthetically pleasing. Puke Ariki gives a political and natural history of Taranaki. Two streets up the road, the Govett-Brewster gallery also has some interesting contemporary art pieces. Puke Ariki is free and the Brewster gallery is only free to residents.

See Contemporary Art at the Govett-Brewster

My favorite work in the Brewster is by a Japanese artist, Yuichiro Tamura. His exhibited film grapples with his personal reflection of starring as an extra in Brad Pitt’s The Last Samurai, (which was filmed in New Plymouth in 2002). It showcases how the filming of The Last Samurai contributed to the development of the region. This film is exactly as strange as it sounds, and I totally enjoyed it.

Today, a banner still hangs across the center of town from the New Plymouth premiere of the movie, labeled “The Last Samauri starring Brad Pitt.” The film and the banner have a similar post-apocalyptic quality to them, especially when all of the shops in town close at 4pm and the only thing moving is the banner in the wind.

If museums aren’t your thing or you want to maximize your time spent outdoors, check out Pukekura Park. It is a great Japanese garden and there is a free zoo with monkeys and alpacas! This is one of my favorite parks I have ever been to. In the summers, they have a Festival of Lights and a wonderful concert venue in the park.

Hike to The Famous Pouakai Tarn

After exploring the CBD / museums /park, its time for the fun part: headed up to Mount Taranaki and go up to the Pouakai Tarn. Look at this bad boy:

View of Mount Taranaki from the Pouakai Tarn

Iconic right!? It’s just a short 20-minute drive from downtown to the base of the trail. Start from Mangorei road and it should only take around 4 hours depending on your speed. It is such a gorgeous hike and a good workout too. I didn’t mind the clouds in my photo, but many people camp out with their cameras at the lookout point to score the perfect windless, cloudless photo. In winter, this was a rarity. After hiking, grab a drink at the Good Home, a cozy spot in the CBD, or cook something at home with fresh bread from Billow Bakery.

Sunday: More Delicious Coffee & Surfing or Hiking

For some morning coffee, head to Ozone. I love this spot. I must have gone here 1-2 times per week and camped out with my laptop. Super warm atmosphere, well-lit, free wifi, friendly staff, and GREAT coffee. This is my favorite coffee in NZ, next to Roger’s at Origin Coffee (read more here about how I stumbled upon a Malawian-family friend in NZ brewing the best coffee ever). Afterward, you can head up to the North Egmont Visitor’s Center to see what hikes interest you. One I particularly loved was the Maketewa Hut track. It takes approximately 3 hours round-trip up if you decide to hike up the track and down the forest road. Another more mild option is the doing the Goblin Forest loop (1 hour) or doing the Veronica Loop track (2 hours round-trip).

But if you’re more a fan of the sea than the hills, substitute one of the hiking opportunities for a surfing session, paddleboarding, or just laying out on the black-sand beaches. Unfortunately, it was winter while I was here, so I never went surfing or even in the ocean. If I come back when the weather is warmer, I would love to swim and surf in Oakura, a quaint beach town 20 min away from New Plymouth. If you’re up for it after your hike, head down to the Coastal Walkway and take a short sunset walk, or just sit and watch the bikers pass by.

Monday: Visit Oakura & Lake Mangamahoe

If you have a third day, spend some time in Oakura and visiting some of the local parks like Lake Mangamahoe. If it happens to be raining the weekend you’re there, grab some to-go food from Little Glutton, go for a scenic drive, and if you’re ambitious, brave the weather and explore some of the area’s parks like Tupare Gardens. For a weekend away, or for an addition to one’s grand tour of New Zealand, New Plymouth is definitely worth a visit; but most importantly, for outdoors lovers, Mount Taranaki has so much to offer!