Not What We Expected

I don’t really have a favourite beer. I enjoy a variety of beers from a range of styles. Generally I’m drawn to “interesting” beer, whatever it might be. But if I did have a favourite beer, it would be Theakston Old Peculier. Brewed in the small Yorkshire town of Masham, Old Peculier doesn’t always travel well, and it’s generally difficult to find. So you can imagine my surprise when Jan spotted a bottle (bless her heart) in the local New World grocery store. Needless to say, my choice of “blog-writing-beer” was obvious.

We had a bit of rain on the drive here this morning, but by the time we arrived in New Plymouth it was mostly clear. While Jan had a pedicure, I headed for the ocean. It was not what I expected…

The road to New Plymouth is called the Surf Highway, and it was easy to see why. I walked along the seaside path listening to the waves crash into the rocky breakwater. The path was a good twenty feet above the water, but driftwood had been thrown up beside the path. I think they must have significant storms here.

The rocks had things growing on them – I assume lichen, but I’m not sure. This is a closeup showing the structure. For scale, this is about the size of a silver dollar.

New Plymouth is like many New Zealand towns, with Māori sculptures and street art.

The next few pictures were on an underpass near the water. I’m sure that Duncan and Sarah can tell us what birds these are.

Here is an iconic view from the New Plymouth waterfront. It reminds me a bit of the haystack along the Oregon coast from our 2022 trip.

And here is another iconic landmark – the Wind Wand, which bends in the very strong breeze that blows off the Tasman sea. Note the person at the foot of the wand for scale.

On our drive up from Whanganui we started seeing American flags (not something we were seeing before) and then classic American cars. At first we thought “how strange” but before long we realized something must be going on here. Sure enough, we’ve wandered into the first day of Americarna, an annual celebration of classic American cars. Over the next few days, some 900 fully restored classic American cars will be on the streets of New Plymouth and the surrounding towns. Here are a few shots taken as we were walking about today.