Pukekura park is set in a gully in the centre of New Plymouth. It has Mt Taranaki ( Egmont ) as its backdrop. In the summer a festival of lights occurs here which attracts people  from many parts of the country as well as the locals. Many of the battle scenes from 'The Last Samurai' were filmed on the cricket/soccer field. New Plymouth also has over eleven kilometres of walkway ( see left )  paralleling the ocean. It is used continuously by walkers, runners, skateboarders, skaters, cyclists and older people on the ATVs ( battery operated aged people movers).

Dominating the skyline is the composite cone of Mt Taranaki  ( Egmont ). It is 8260 feet high and has a parasitic cone on its  southern side ( left as we see it ) . This dormant volcano has a ring plain of very fertile soil which makes the province of Taranaki one of the main dairying areas in New Zealand.