Adjoining Pukekura Park, Brooklands Park is home to the Bowl of Brooklands, a world-class natural amphitheatre and sound-shell that hosts the annual WOMAD festival and old-school rockers like Fleetwood Mac; the talent is separated from the rabid fans by a little lake. Park highlights include a 2000-year-old puriri tree, some colossal Monterrey and Norfolk Island pines, a 300-variety rhododendron dell and the farmy (and free!) Brooklands Zoo.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Brooklands Zoo

0.09 MILES

A short drive uphill from the city centre in Brooklands Park is this farmy little zoo. Adorable cotton-top tamarins, wandering chooks and the walk-through…

2. Pukekura Park

0.56 MILES

Lush Pukekura has 49 hectares of gardens, playgrounds, trails, streams, waterfalls, ponds and display houses. In summer, rowboats (per half-hour $15)…

3. New Plymouth Observatory

0.76 MILES

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

4. Kibby Carillon

0.78 MILES

On top of Marsland Hill is the cacophonous 37-bell Kibby Carillon, a huge automated glockenspiel-like device that tolls out across the New Plymouth…

5. Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary

0.88 MILES

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…

6. Clock Tower

1.03 MILES

If you lose your bearings in downtown New Plymouth (or just want to know the time), look for the kooky, stripy clock tower, which is often luridly lit at…

8. Puke Ariki Landing

1.08 MILES

Developed in the 1980s, Puke Akiri Landing connects the city centre with the foreshore. The grassy area in front of Puke Ariki features a large, carved…