Scenic Walks

The New Plymouth District consists of a 30 kilometre strip of land along the coast between Mokau to Okato, Dissects the Egmont National Park and includes the towns Oakura, Waitara, Inglewood and Urenui. Maori favoured this stretch of coast and today they make up about 13% of the districts population. Mt Egmont was named for the fleet admiral of the British navy by Captain Cook (the second white captain to visit New Zealand and the first to accurately map the coast) The name New Plymouth derives from Southern England, where most of the emigrants came from in the 1840's. It was the name of the province briefly and is still the name of Taranaki's only city. Its main street, Devon, also comes from Southern England.

The district is well endowed with natural attractions that cater for the great Taranaki outdoor lifestyle. To satisfy the regions large number of sports-enthusiasts it provides 24 sports grounds. The 25 hectare Pukekura Park and neighbouring Bowl of Brooklands in the heart of New Plymouth are the city's lungs and is just one of the districts 16 parks and reserves. The coastline consists of innumerable unnamed and 13 official beaches. Oakura and Urenui beaches are particularly popular camping sites over summer. For anytime swimming, the district provides four swimming pools. For real time out, there are over 60 kilometres of walkways at nine locations.