Taranaki - the place is like no other and feels like my second home with both sides of my family coming from this region. It's a dream location for landscape photography in NZ with Mount Taranaki dominating the landscape everywhere you go and incredible coastal locations with amazing rock structures and offshore islands like Paritutu and Back Beach in New Plymouth as well as Tongaporutu (The Three Sisters) and its ever changing coastline further up the coast. Here are my favourite locations:

Mount Taranaki
Firstly there’s the mountain, the show-stopping centrepiece of the region and definitely the jewel in the crown. On days when you you can see it, the mountain is a sight that dominates, and can be seen from almost anywhere within a few hundred kilometre radius. All roads lead to the mountain, well it does seem that way at times with many roads leading up to the national park boundary providing perfect leading lines towards the towering peak.

Lake Mangamahoe
The lake provides a beautiful foreground to the mountain backdrop and on a still morning you may even be lucky enough to get a reflection of the mountain in the calm waters.

Cape Egmont
The Cape Egmont lighthouse out west makes a captivating foreground if you can manage to catch a shot of it when the mountain is in view. I took four visits over four years to get a shot of both visible!

Pouakai Tarn
The classic Mount Taranaki reflection shot from high in the Pouakai ranges. The tarn itself is actually much smaller than it looks in photos, and getting a low angle here is key to making the reflection across the lake a perfect mirror.

Back Beach & Paritutu
This little gem is tucked down behind Paritutu, the famous rock that juts out of the landscape down near the port in New Plymouth. Paritutu is part of a small volcanic ring known as the Sugarloaf islands, and some of the smaller islands provide a great subject at sunset when the sun goes down behind them.

Lake Rotomanu & Te Rewa Rewa Bridge
It's quite surprising to find a lake right next to the sea, but Lake Rotomanu is just that. The jetty here is generally quite a good spot for sunrise, and if that fails then you've got the famous Te Rewa Rewa whale bone shaped bridge with its perfectly angled design providing a view directly through to the mountain. On a clear day, its quite spectacular!

Pukekura Park
No trip to Taranaki would be complete without a wander round Pukekura Park, and if you visit during the summer, you absolutely CAN'T miss the Festival of the Lights - Taranaki's best free annual event. Even though it's man-made, I'm rather partial to the wee waterfall in the park which lights up with different colours on a timed sequence.

Dawson Falls
If you're after a REAL waterfall, then you need look no further than Dawson Falls on the south side of the mountain. This waterfall (together with the Wilkies Pools loop track) is a great asset to the region, and I love the fact you can get right up close to this waterfall, if you dare.

Tongaporutu - The Three Sisters & Elephant Rock
An hour up the coast from New Plymouth lies the incredible coastline of Tongaporutu. Accessible only within two hours of low tide, it's a 20 minute walk along the river mouth to get to the rock formations along this constantly changing stretch of beach. Elephant Rock succumbed to the sea in December 2015, and the Sisters are always changing in number as they erode and new columns form and break away from the cliffs. On a good day you can even catch a glimpse of Mount Taranaki in shot in the distance.

For more Taranaki inspiration, check out these posts:

10 Must-See Photography Locations in Taranaki Hiking the Pouakai Circuit: 3 Amazing & Varied Days on Mt Taranaki

To purchase prints and canvases and more, visit my Taranaki Gallery at my online print store.