The Far Side (Coastal Walkway Part 2)

With tramping on Taranaki now behind me, I set my sights on finishing up more of the Coastal Walkway. It was a relatively fine afternoon in New Plymouth (if a bit chilly) when I set out from the far north end of the track, an area called ‘Bell Block’. The track here had a decidedly different feel to it.

And just showing how prominent a feature it really is, Mt. Taranaki decided to make an appearance.

The city of New Plymouth was still several kilometers away as the track lazily follows the coastline.

Probably the most interesting part of the entire walkway – the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge.

The Te Rewa Rewa Bridge really is quite a marvel I thought. It’s simple, elegant but a spectacular design at the same time. I was very impressed.

I detoured off the walkway at this point to return to the beach. At this point I decided to turn around – the sun sets pretty early here at this time of year and the temperature drops quickly with it!

But I couldn’t go by without more pictures of the pretty bridge!

Probably the most notable viewpoint of the bridge. Here (though hard to see in the picture, very noticeable in person), Mt. Taranaki is framed in the center of the ribs. In person, it is quite a great spot.

While I was in love with the bridge, it was just the highlight of an overall stellar piece of track. I loved that New Plymouth had created (at no small expense) a long stretch of paved multi-purpose pathway that everyone that lived and visited the city could enjoy. This was mid-week, and I still saw numerous people jogging, biking, walking their dogs or simply strolling along the path. It makes a place feel very alive to have such a facility.

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