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Not Quite Paradise Lost

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English and the study of medieval poetry is not what I would consider one of my strong points but the title of a very famous 450 year old poem, Paradise Lost has always stuck in my mind. The ten-thousand-word saga is actually about good and evil and how the devil tempted Adam and Eve. It really has very little, in fact nothing to do with boy racers since it was written hundreds of years before cars were invented. Although maybe they are also tempted by the devil to make as much of a nuisance as possible. Still the title of the poem comes to mind as appropriate given what happened in a little bit of paradise in New Plymouth.

After leaving the NZMCA Park at Huatoki Domain we headed into town to take advantage of the dump station at the Mobil. While there, we noticed that the Caltex across the road did gas bottle refills and also headed over to get this done as well. Given the exhorbitant charge these days for swappa bottle getting the bottle refilled when we can is something we try and do whenever the chance presents itself. Often taking a mostly used bottle home to run our gas powered stove top and putting a new full bottle back in the motorhome.

We had decided to have a look and possibly stay at the freedom camping spot at Lake Rotomanu (#4174) located just out of New Plymouth and close to the coastal cycleway. It’s a great spot with the upper level for non self contained campers and the lower level for self contained. We arrived to find the place, not exactly deserted but with plenty of available spots. Taking advantage of our good fortune we parked up alongside the lake in a spot that looked like it had been made especially for us🙂.

Not more than a few minutes after arriving we had the bikes out ready to take advantage of our proximity to the coastal trail. The weather was a little questionable but we had warm gloves and padded jackets to help keep the bitter wind from freezing us solid. The area we had parked is just a short ride away from the Te Rewa Rewa bridge which can provide a spectacular view up towards Mt Taranaki on a clearer day. Today though the bridge was closed for repainting, meaning that we couldn’t access the track towards the NZMCA Park at Bell Block and could only head towards New Plymouth.

I have to say that this pathway is an probably one of the best coastal pathways in New Zealand. A wide pathway that easily accomodates people or cyclists heading in both directions. Since it is almost completely flat it’s an easy ride unless you experience a head wind like we did on our visit. At times the wind was so strong it felt like one peddle forwards two peddles backwards. These days since we have become fitter we try where possible to cycle without using battery assist. But there where places on the pathway, especially as we neared the port area, when I couldn’t help but press that button to help overcome the headwinds. The ride back to the motorhome was almost a case of no peddling required just let the wind do the work.

Talking of the ride back, we stopped to watch the wind wand which looked to be really buckling in the wind. Of course by the time I dragged my phone out of my pocket and handed it to Sarah to get a photo the wind had eased. Still I have the memory of it happening. There are other sculptures along the route including the concave mirrored steel and the headless ladies you can see in the photos above. I think all these things add to the enjoyment of the ride or walk.

The wind might have made cycling tough at times but for the kite surfers on the water it must have been heaven. We stopped and watched for a while marvelling at the prowess and strength that must be required to do this. Not something for a beginner or the faint hearted in these conditions but wonderful to watch.

That evening the wind that had been there all day dropped away completely, leaving the lake we were parked next to almost without a ripple. With that stillness out came the the local canoeists and other boaties including the powered hydrofoiling surf ski. As the sun started to set turning the sky a brilliant pink we felt really lucky to be parked up in such a beautiful spot.

I should mention that aside from the bay where we parked there was a large grassed area in the middle which by the end of the day had a number of vehicles parked. Later when we looked there were a lot of vehicles also parked in the area set aside for non self contained vehicles. So a very well set out freedom camping spot far enough away from local residents to not pose any intrusion problems. Yet, still with plenty of parking space for the locals who might want to take advantage of the lake or easy access to the cycle track. An area I would have highly recommended.

That was until about 11.30pm when the peace of the night was destroyed. One of the locals must have been having a few issues with their car and decided that giving it a decent rev up might help. We have encountered “boy racers” a few times before and while this time there was only one car it was easily the loudest we have encountered. The first effort only lasted a few minutes before you could hear them driving away. Sadly they didn’t stay away returning three further times during the night. During which they drove around the camping area at maximum rpm. The car sounded most like a Subaru turbo so each time they downshifted (which happened on a regular basis.) the “blow off valve” would let out a very loud whooping sound. A great way to guarantee that the visitors to your town think about moving on rather than staying and spending money.

Never at anytime did I feel threatened as there was only one of them and there were plenty of campers. It was more about the deliberate act to ruin the peace of the night. So not quite paradise lost more like paradise (read sleep) disturbed.

To view the places we have visited click here to see them on Google maps. You can then click the link to read the blog about that area.

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The post Not Quite Paradise Lost first appeared on Licenced To Retire.

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