The day we went up Taranaki Mountain

in travel •  7 years ago 

Taranaki is a magnificent high imposing mountain on the West side of the North Island of New Zealand.

The day we went to view the mountain, it was sunny and there was very little cloud on the mountain as we started out. During the time we travelled through the countryside towards Taranaki, the clouds were gathering around Taranaki Mountain quickly. 

Hedge groves at the foot hills of Taranaki:

What fascinated me in the foothills of the mountain was how the trees and undergrowth was so densely crammed together and precisely cut back from the road. Like high neat sheer walls on each side of the road… and… no rubbish anywhere. 

It was a WOW and Gob-smashing moment for me! I’ve never seen such precision work in all my life. There is no careful neatness back in my own country of South Africa. Truly New Zealanders love their country and work hard to keep it in ship-shape condition! 

I’m sorry I didn’t get a photo of those neatly cut trees and tightly packed undergrowth on both sides of the road for you to see. 

The trimming is there to allow the cars and buses to pass through the thick complex bush, along the ever winding road up to the parking area, halfway up the mountain. The road is so narrow, that every now and again pass-point intersections are provided, where vehicles squeeze pass each other both ways. It sort of adds a little held-your-breathe spectacle to the event. 

In a very short time the weather had changed:

If you want to know, it took us just over half an hour to get up the East side of the mountain. But by that time the mist and cloud had completely covered the top half of the mountain. The transformation is somewhat theatrical and powerful to witness. It shows you just how quickly the weather over the mountain can change. 

The panoramic lookout view:

We stopped at the parking lot and took a walk along a designated path to the lookout. See two photos of that path below. And when I got to the lookout I took these photos of the mountain side. 

And then looking out over the countryside you realize how high up you are. Gosh, it didn’t seem so, as you wind up through the foothills on your way up the mountain to the parking spot! 

Then I thought that’s great but… wait a moment,  

What’s at my feet?

But if you stop and look down deep into the undergrowth, you discover the delicate growth of moss, lichen and ferns grown there.  

Through the whole trip you become aware why New Zealand’s icon of the fern is on their flag! Ferns are everywhere. In this case the misty conditions are a perfect habitat. 

I was captivated by the abstract patterns the fragile undergrowth made there. It made me think of a friend of mine who loves fairies. I’m sure if she was there, she would have expected to see some tiny fairies to be secretly living right there… even waving up at us! 

Even though summer was upon us, 

You can’t but think what it must be like there in wintertime. 

At that moment, for us, here was only a little snow left in the folds and at the top of Taranaki. But we were told that in the wintertime people came there to ski down the mountain through the heavy snow laden mountain slopes. 

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What a beautiful Country New Zealand and I love your beautiful Photographs and also great 🌟 Love for New Zealand's Cricket team. Pakistan has Played Semi final Against New Zealand back in 1992 then Martin Crow was the Captain of New Zealand Cricket team.
What a great memories with this beautiful Country.
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful Locations @artguru.
I Love these beautiful Mountains.

I see you love sports. In one of my previous posts on New Zealand, you'll see a christmas festival float with children in it. All dressed up as New Zealand's future rugby team. It seems they train their children to be proud of their teams.

Love the detail. The vegetation and climate was also quite diverse. New Zealand is beautiful.

Awesome Post !

What a wonderful place! Bad you got the worst weather though

Aaah but I don't mind bad weather as an artist. If the weather turns nasty, you get fantastic dramatic effects to paint.

Lovely photos. I really like Newzealand, the beautiful scenery and climates of the North and South islands

i love hill
where is the hill??

The mountain is on New Zealand's north island, on the lefthand side. Next week I will have another blog on this mountain. Hope you enjoy that too.

These landscapes are wonderful. I'd love to have the opportunity to see these places

I must admit I didn't climb to the top. Just half way up! But it's still an awesome adventure to be able to do that.

Nice... Cool!! Steem On!

How high is that mountain?

Quite honestly I have no idea, but if you Google it, I'm sure you'll find your answer.

@artguru
NZ seems to be a very serene, happy, and livable country.

Which city are you from?

I'm from Dubai. Have you been to Dubai?

Presently I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. But I love travelling to different places. I must have an adventurous spirit, even though I'm in my seventies!

sounds cool... enjoying being Proteas eh :)

also, age is just a number... live it to the fullest ;)

also, follow me for more posts from my side... many thanks

So beautiful.
I hope going this place