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| Castle Cliff beach on a cloudy day |
For the last month, the BF and I have been sitting back and enjoying a lesser known town called Wanganui. Wanganui (or Whanganui as the government calls it), is considered a poor town with large slum areas, but honestly, I thought it was a beautiful place! The slums really more resembled a lower class neighborhood in an average Canadian city. The town is filled with beautiful parks, walks, beaches, and a lovely riverfront that plays as backdrop for a weekly farmer's market.
By far my favourite place was Lake Virginia. A gorgeous garden like park with three different levels of walking tracks surrounding it. It's like being in a rural forest right in the middle of a town. There is also a water fountain that will put on a show with colored lights for $1 per 10 minutes - great at night. Unfortunately, all the pictures I took of Virginia park didn't work and I didn't know! You'll just have to see if for yourself. :D
I did get a few pictures of the bird sanctuary there. It shouldn't be a surprise, but BF and I laughed when the parrot spoke in a Kiwi accent.
A few blocks away is a Fallow Deer Sanctuary.
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| "Heeeey" |
Across the river is Kowai Park, a huge, creative, and colorful children's park. It has a big zipline, called a flying fox, that the BF and I came back to a few times. :) Not far from it is a little "amusement park" that has mini golf, paddle boats, and race karts! BF and I jumped into the race karts and the attendant asked us if we wanted to learn how to drift. YES! I won, but only by the smallest margin. :P
At the base of one of the many hills around Wanganui is a tunnel.
And that tunnel leads to an elevator. It still requires an operator and is the only underground elevator open to the public in New Zealand.
Ride the elevator all the way up to the top of Durie Hill.
And from there you can climb the spiral staircase to the top of Durie Memorial Tower!
A little farther away is a a beach called Waverly beach. Go during low tide and you'll get to explore the caves the ocean creates in the clay cliffs. Also, we saw seals both times we went. Just make sure to use the stairs down instead of trying to walk down the boat ramp. It is mad slippery with all that gravel. I would know. :P
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| "Run away!" |
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| Those two used to be connected |
And while we're talking about beaches, I would also recommend checking out Otoka Beach. There are beaches everywhere since New Zealand is an skinny island country, but Otoka is stunning and being out of the way, is less visited. There are also many birds that nest in the cracks of the cliffs.
Now for all you foodies out there, Wanganui is lucky and awesome enough to have an all-vegan cafe! Su-weet! The place is called Petre Dish and is part of a yoga studio. Everyweek, BF and I would walk along the riverfront, putter about the farmer's market, and then pop into Petre for lunch. Their pumpkin cashew curry is so amazingly good we ended up ordering that several times even though there were other dishes to try.
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| Left to right: Cottage pie, pumpkin cashew curry, and three different salads |
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| Left to right: wild rice salad, moroccan chickpea, and barley and veg |
The BF and I have crossed to the south side and are planning to stay in Picton for the next 3-4 months (the Christmas season). I just got a job as a baker at one of the best bakeries in New Zealand! Needless to say, I am majorly excited to get back into the kitchen and the staff and owners seem ridiculously nice and awesome already. Til next time!
