"New Plymouth" a New Plymouth Travel Page by cnango

New Plymouth is one of my favorite destinations in New Zealand. Mainly because I have dear Kiwi friends who live there.
My friends manage a farm with lots of sheep, cows, chooks and several household pets.From their back porch you can see a volcano.The volcano's European name is 'Mt Egmont' which is what my friends say they were taught to call it in school growing up. Today many people prefer to call it by its Maori name Mt Taranaki' .Which of those names is 'correct' depends on who you ask of course LOL. New Plymouth was the location of the the movie 'Last Samurai ' starring Tom Cruise. They digitally removed the point on the top of the volcano so it could pass as Mt Fuji in ancient Japan. The reason NZ is so becoming popular for several movies is that it has not been mass developed like so many other countries & has an abundance of nature still unspoiled. New Plymouth is located on the west coast of the North Island in NZ. I have walked along the beach once but most of my time there has been on the farm outside of town in a rural location. I like staying on the farm enjoying Kiwi hospitality & experiencing a true cultural exchange.