The Cape Egmont Lighthouse was another highlight of our Taranki excursion. On the way, we stopped along the coast to enjoy the waves (we could watch them endlessly) and "driving into the ocean." The east/west road we took to the coast was arrow straight (the first such road we've seen in NZ!) and you could see the ocean from a long distance. As we were driving downhill, there was an optical illusion that made it appear that we would drive directly into the ocean. We took the Surf Highway (Route 45) up to the original lighthouse (although it took us two attempts to find the correct 1-lane road). Just a short distance away, members of the local boat club had restored items from the original lighthouse and created a museum to show how the lighthouse worked. Also, it turned out that Ernst Rutherford (a noted physicist from the early 20th century) was born and raised nearby – the bottom floor of the museum was a tribute to his accomplishments. We continued on the Surf Highway up to New Plymouth for lunch and a visit to a couple of art galleries. We found some small reproduction paintings in the first gallery, but had to restrain ourselves as we could have easily spent several thousand dollars there.
