During my trip to New Zealand I will be moving about the North Island, but will be establishing 3 primary lodging bases in three distinct regions of the North Island. My first primary base will be in the Taranaki Region and the city of New Plymouth.
Wait, New Plymouth? That sounds familiar. That’s because I grew up in Massachusetts and many members of my family lived or grew up in Plymouth Massachusetts in the shadows of Plymouth Plantation, The Mayflower, and Plymouth Rock. Plymouth MA was founded by the pilgrims that left Plymouth England in the 1600’s. More settlers from Plymouth England ventured across oceans and founded New Plymouth New Zealand in 1841.
The pilgrims in 1620 found Massachusetts to be inhabited by Native Americans (the Wampanoag Indians). The English settlers in 1841 arrived in the Taranaki region only to find it inhabited by the Maori people who had settled the area as far back as 800AD.
New Plymouth is situated on the west coast of the North Island and it lies about halfway between Auckland (to the north) and Wellington (to the south). To the west are the South Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea, which separates New Zealand and Australia by about 1200 miles. To the east the city is back dropped by Mount Taranaki, a volcano with the familiar cone shape. Its last major eruption was in the mid 1700s so hopefully it can wait a bit longer for the next one until after I leave. If it looks familiar its because it was in the movie The Last Samurai. It was filmed here because Mt Taranaki bears a striking resemblance to Mt Fuji in Japan. The coastline in this part of New Zealand is a destination for surfers from all over the globe. Surf Highway 45 is the iconic coastal route in the Taranaki Region. I’ve posted a few pictures from this region down below. I hope you look forward to seeing many more of my own photos and videos once I get situated in New Zealand and the Taranaki region.
The USA Eagles will play 2 of their 4 pool matches here in New Plymouth. The first against Ireland on September 11 and the second against Russia on September 15th. I will be attending both games.
- The Ireland match is scheduled to be broadcast on NBC so don't miss it and watch for me in the stands.
- The Russia match will also be broadcast on Universal Sports (NBC broadcast partner) found on DirectTV and I'm sure on cable systems as well.
- I’ve added a poll question regarding who you think will win the USA vs. Russia match so please feel free to answer it and the previously posted poll questions.
The city of New Plymouth is ready to welcome the USA and its fans. When it was learned that the USA had clinched a spot in the Rugby World Cup in 2009 after defeating Uruguay in 2 qualifying matches, the Mayor of New Plymouth stated: “The USA has worked hard to gain a spot in the RWC tournament and the locals here in Taranaki will give them huge support when they run onto the ground at Stadium Taranaki. This is what Rugby World Cup is about: a rugby-mad public sharing the love of the game with players and fans around the world.”
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