After dinner, we headed back into Pukekura Park, in search of glow worms.  It was still light when we arrived, so we took a leisurely stroll around the flatter parts beside the lake, reminiscing fondly about which way we went to which controls (it was all of a day and a half ago).  At a slower pace, we had time to admire the ancient twisted trunk of the wisteria vine; the tea house; the Poets Bridge across the lake, and the waterfall, which was illuminated in an array of colours.  We navigated our way into the narrow tunnel, made up of fern fronts, where the glow worms are. Sure enough, we saw several teeny tiny twinkling blue lights, in amongst the greenery.  It takes a while for your eyes to adjust, but gradually you start to see more.  It’s no Waitomo Caves, but it was a lovely end to a lovely day.

This morning, Taranaki was in clear view again, so before leaving New Plymouth, we detoured to a lookout point at Lake Mangamahoe, to bid farewell to our mountain, before retracing our steps north, back towards Hamilton, then northeast to Paroea and Karangahake Gorge, our home for the next few nights.