After relaxing on our patio – and then in the room after an afternoon shower chased us inside – we head back down into town for dinner. There are 2 Indian restaurants that get pretty good reviews, both owned by the same people, each menu a little different. We end up choosing what appears to be the “newer” location – Pankawalla.
Finding the restaurant is simple, parking, not so much. Parallel parking is a big challenge when you are driving a car with the wheel on the right. So, we’re kind of hamstrung looking for pull in parking. We circle the block a couple of times, and finally luck into a couple of open parallel spaces that allow us to just pull straight in and not jostle to make it close to the curb. Phew!
The restaurant is gorgeous – really well done. And the staff is incredibly friendly, helpful and on top of it. Great first impressions…
For dinner, Ed goes with the Chef Special – chunks of lamb cooked with ginger, garlic and egg white, then topped with eggs (hard boiled pieces) and coriander and ginger flakes. Incredibly tasty and as our waiter has told us “smooth” on your throat. He’s right!
I can’t decide between two lamb dishes, so the waiter makes the choice for me – Lamb Nawabi – which is sautéed lamb with onions, sun-dried tomatoes and a rich thick sauce garnished with cashews and onions. Fabulous.
We’re good to go! And it’s still early – so….the Festival of Lights is definitely in our future!
Back to the hotel, we freshen up and then head over to Pukekura Park, a short walk from the hotel, where the annual Festival of Lights is held. Pukekura Park is renowned as one of the best inner-city parks in New Zealand. Over 56 hectares (138 acres) with diverse landscapes, plant collections, exotic trees, formal gardens, lakes and walking trails – this park was originally a barren swampy valley The initial park opened in 1876 with only 15 hectares and grew over the years, finally being completed with the addition of a private family farm estate that was bequeathed to the people of New Plymouth.
Each holiday season – December through February – the park also hosts the Festival of Lights celebration, where light displays are placed all over the park and every evening there is some sort of entertainment activity going on. Tonight happens to be a “big” night with two boy bands – the Spice Boys ( a band from a local high school) and Titanium (the New Zealand version of New Kids on the Block, a band put together through competitions across the country – basically like a star search kind of thing). There is also the “Highly Flammable – Pyro/Fire show”, so how can we resist?
The weather has completely changed – for the good. It is clear and crisp with a nice breeze blowing. So, we head on out to the park – flashlight in hand! It’s still light when we leave, but who knows what it will look like when we return. We walk down Coronation Avenue, past the horse race track with a few Dressage competitors on the field practicing, then down a residential street to the back entrance to the park. We follow a trail steeply downhill (oh this will be fun coming back up!) and enter the park at the back end of the main lake. It is an astonishing gorgeous place. Wonderful pathways, vegetation everywhere, lighted canoes you can rent to circle the lake, just magical really! And the lights aren’t even on yet!
We just sort of wander through, soaking up nature and following the sounds of the music. We’ve missed the Spice Boys (darn!) but are right in time for the last sets of Titanium. Talk about the boy band! OMG, we’ve not seen so many tweens in one place ever! And yes, it’s because we have none of our own, but still. Every tween girl and boy (but mostly girl) within a 100 mile radius is here! It’s so fun to watch. First of all, the amphitheater is a natural bowl – with the stage on the other side of a little lake – so the sound just pours out over the water and is amplified up the hillside. Then, after you soak up the beauty of it all, you just have to smile at the screaming girls pushed up against the barriers at the front of the lake. Too much fun!
Plus, really, for a boy band, these guys are good! They are on it – have the moves down, the sounds, playing to the audience. A very fun experience! Next up comes the “Flaming people “ – who turns out are 4 girls and one guy doing different dances and things with flaming batons and LED lights. It’s not really dark enough for them, but it still is fairly cool to watch. Meanwhile, Titanium is doing a signing after the “Flaming people”, so the kids are lined up 20 deep. They are really close to the path out, so we make our exit before the signing starts.
Heading back down the path, not in the darkness with the festival lights guiding our way is great. They’ve got all sorts of lights strung up, revolving, colorful, odd shaped, flower shaped, jelly fish shaped and a glowing water fall…
It’s quite stunning, and very fun to walk through with the crowds of families and teens coming from the the concert. The best part was probably the bridge – in the daytime just cool looking hanging lanterns, now a glowing pulsating, almost living thing. Totally Awesome!
We head back up our steep little path to the residential neighborhood and walk back toward the hotel. the final note to an awesome evening: Mt. Taranaki is out! No clouds, crystal clear in the moonlight! Pictures don’t do it justice, but wow – it is so majestic! What a great sight to end a fun night!
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