New Plymouth's Festival of Lights

For almost 6 weeks from the 14th December 2014, New Plymouth celebrated its festival of lights in the lovely Pukekura Park. It's a massive area of parkland close to the city centre, with boating and ornamental lakes, lovely gardens - including a Japanese garden, a large nursery and botanical gardens complex, play areas, performance auditoriums, long walking paths and so on. We visited it every day during our visit to New Plymouth, three times in all, and especially at night when the grounds were excitingly illuminated. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

On the first evening, we headed over to the park at dusk and saw the lights become increasingly pronounced as dusk progressed. Here's on the boating lake we could hire illuminated rowing boats to travel the quite extensive waterway. Adjacent to this was a stage on which quite accomplished jazz musicians were playing and we listened for quite a while in the enveloping gloom. The saxophonist was good and reminded of Bill Clinton, at which point I realised that my American grand-daughter, Ella, was unlikely to become the first female President of the US - a title quite likely to fall to Hillary!

After a quick visit to a very nice ice-creamery, we wander the footpaths to view the excellent light displays. Here are a few.

I managed to get Dot, Bec and Max to pose amidst a stream of people crossing this bridge.

And the next morning we were at the park entrance again, but this time just three of us because we had just dropped Bec off to climb Mt Egmont (aka Taranaki) alone. She in fact did the return trip to the top of the cone in 8 hours of very strenuous and scary walking. The last part in particular was exceptionally steep and not well marked.

In daylight we were able to see the nursery / botanical complex under glass and the show was impressive.

Beyond this complex lay the Japanese garden.

Following the footpath down in the previous slide, we came to a large and well-equipped play areas where Max was in his element.

And while Max played under Dot's supervision, I explored some other paths, coming across this lovely little water wheel.

Fast forward a day, and again at dusk we explored the Pukekura's paths yet again ... after suitably equipped with delicious ice-creams. Again there were masses of illuminations we had not previously seen:

And at the northern end of the park we came across a Rock Concert with no less than 4 bands performing - though we only stayed for one them.

And, finally, a stroll back though the illuminated vegetation to our car.

What a lovely place.

AS