I wish my friends in the UK could hear the beautiful sounds coming from outside the open doorway. It is a glorious morning and the little stream at the bottom of the garden is bubbling away. The sounds of the New Zealand birds is like nowhere else I have ever been: so clear and bell like and interspersed with British birdsong.
I am spending today with my old school friend Sharyn and a friend of hers, Malcolm. The first port of call was to a beautiful hexagaonal building called “Tawa Glen”. It was a very peaceful setting with the most beautiful gardens.
After eating a Neenish Tart and drinking coffee we called into see Sharyn’s sister Barbara’s garden, which they have spent years developing. Plants certainly do well in Taranaki’s fertile soil.
From there Malcolm drove us out to Urenui where an English lady from Dorset has started and amazing tea shop called “The Old Hall”. She has an amazing collection of hats and guests are encouraged to wear them while they are there.
They don\’t make clotted cream in Taranaki so the lady has been doing her own. Today was the first anniversary of the tea shop, which is doing rather well.
After tucking into an assortment of delights; I had ginger and pear scone with lemon curd and clotted cream we drove back to Sharyn’s house in Bell Block. There were a couple of kilometres that I hadn’t done the previous day so I decided to complete the coastal path. Retracing the path to the velodrome I then followed it down to Bell Block Beach and around back to Sharyn’s.
After a little relaxation Sharyn drove me to the airport where I caught a plane back to Auckland with lots of happy memories of New Plymouth.
Maybe get the tea shop recipes for Meadow Lea? xxx
PS. What’s a Neenish Tart? xxx