Boy hugging tree

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Lush Pukekura has 49 hectares of gardens, playgrounds, trails, streams, waterfalls, ponds and display houses. In summer, rowboats (per half-hour $15) meander across the main lake (full of arm-sized eels), next to which the Tea House serves light meals. The technicolored Festival of Lights draws the summer crowds here, as does the impeccably mowed cricket oval. For the lethargic, 45-minute motorised buggy tours (adult/child $5/free) can whip you around to see the best bits; call for bookings.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. New Plymouth Observatory

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Atop Marsland Hill (great views!) is this wee observatory, with one of the most powerful public-access telescopes in NZ.

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The austere Church of St Mary (1846) is NZ's oldest stone church and its newest cathedral! Its graveyard has the headstones of early settlers and soldiers…

4. Clock Tower

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5. Puke Ariki Landing

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6. Brooklands Zoo

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7. Puke Ariki

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