Hollard Gardens, 1

A German couple we met on the Dawson Falls trail put us on to Hollard Gardens, to the southeast of Taranaki, near Kaponga. It was one of the better travel tips we have gotten. The gardens were the work of one man, dairy farmer turned horticulturalist Bernie Hollard. He inherited the farm in the 1920s, turned to "share-milking" (think "share-cropping") and devoted the rest of his life to the garden, which grew over many years, introducing new specimens and preserving some old. The gardens passed to the Taranaki regional council in the 1980s and has been maintained by the council since. It is free and open to the public. Part of the interest of the place, apart from the layout and the plants themselves, is the signage here and there describing in Hollard's own words the development of the garden, introduction of new plants, development of new specimens, and so on. It is a plant-person's paradise. We only wish we knew more in order to have appreciated it more.

Delavay fir, from southeast Asia

With its characteristic black cones

Many very large rhododerons, apparently Bernie's favorite; these
are the last of the blooms

Note the large bug house, back, left

Apart from being open 24x7, the gardens host tours and a variety
of educational programs

There is a fine view of Taranaki from the north side of the
gardens, with a good bit more of Taranaki coming into view

Small snowfield top left

More of the red Kaponga rhodos that Bernie cultivated...described
on one of the signs below

Twelve years...

Many hydrangeas still going

And big trees

Mount Taranaki, 2023

Taranaki is the North Island's tallest mountain, biggest volcano, and most volcano-like looking volcano. We visited in 2014, and did a brief hike. Needing ever more steps, we decided to do it again in 2023, driving up to the Dawson Falls visitor center and hiking to Dawson Falls from there. Taranaki is one of those notorious big mountains that often shrouds itself in cloud. We had fine views of it coming and going in 2014, but this year it was but an island in the atmospheric river.

As we saw Taranaki in 2014

Walking in the weird woods

Dawson Falls

Us, there; c. 3,000 feet

View to the east

Looking up

Southish; note squall, left

The mountain again, mostly the little subsidiary peak...

And you thought totem poles are
just a Pacific Northwest thing...

Tongaporutu And The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters is one of our favorite places in New Zealand...a low-tide beach where, against the backdrop of cliffs, you can walk out among the stacks and arches and caves, and, much of the time, have it all to yourselves. It's on the coastal highway, north of New Plymouth, but the road curves inland, staying in the valley to cross the little estuary and avoid the bluffs. Of course, at high tide, the little estuary become a bay. See illustrations below.

At the DOC (Department of Conservation) freedom campground
there; middle of map below

Thus; the little settlement of Tongaporutu is at the bend to the
right; nowadays it's just holiday homes and baches; this is a low-
tide shot; at high tide, it's more of a little bay

About an hour before low-tide; to get to the beach and
the coastal scenery, you have to wade this for about
100m's cold Tasman water

Done wading, Vicki is heading for Elephant Rock

Bypassing the cliffs and caves on the south side of the river/estuary

Cliffs on the north side; access to them is from a carpark 3km up
the highway; we've scouted those beaches/cliffs, mostly looking
for spherical boulders that occasionally pop up in the drifting tides
and sands; not this visit

Elephant Rock and its cave/tunnel

Light at the end of the runnel

In the tunnel, next to a small spherical boulder, gradually emerging

Towards the end of the tunnel

Three Sisters; actually, in the years we've been coming here, the 
"original" third fell over, but a new third has popped up; so to
speak; differential erosion; and the incessant pounding of the Tasman
Sea

Me, there

A small arch on Elephant Rock

Heading on south along the "beach"

Vicki advancing; we got beyond this stack and almost to the next
huge cave

But then a sneaker wave knocked Vicki over, and we decided we'd
gone far enough

Us, there, 2023

Wading back; a small spherical boulder has emerged

Evening walk, passing the baches, a favorite jandal (sandal) wall

Specimen bach, dating from the 50s

We kept our distance...

The coastal track leads under the highway bridge and into old
Tongaporutu town

Little gets thrown away...a surfboard fence

The track actually passes through backyards along the river

Google Lens says this is a Blue Lily; whatever it is, it is the most
ubiquitous plant in New Zealand, on the North Island, anyhow,
lining most every highway...

Backyard art

Shoe Fence Of Tawarau

Little is discarded in this remote island nation. Many items find their last use as ornaments or even art. We have seen shoe fences (and shoe trees) elsewhere in New Zealand. Also toilet fences. And then there is the Great Bra Fence at Cardrona, Bradrona, New Zealand's answer to Hadrian's Wall. Imagine our surprise at finding a shoe fence in this remote corner of the North Island.

As far as the eye can see...