Ōkato is a small town in rural Taranaki, New Zealand. It is situated about 25 minutes drive around the coast from New Plymouth on State Highway 45. Ōakura is 12 km to the north-east, and Warea is 9 km to the south-west. The place offers popular rocky surfing spots around coastal beaches. The town was established as a military settlement in the 1860s.
Hempton Hall in Ōkato in 1968
Boarded up store in Ōkato
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Plymouth District, which includes New Plymouth City and several smaller towns, is the 10th largest district in New Zealand, and has a population of 88,900 – about two-thirds of the total population of the Taranaki Region and 1.7% of New Zealand's population. This includes New Plymouth City (59,600), Waitara (7,550), Inglewood (3,870), Ōakura (1,730), Ōkato (561) and Urenui (429).
New Plymouth city skyline looking south from the foreshore with Mount Taranaki on the horizon.
Te Rewa Rewa Bridge which immediately became a symbol of the extensive cycling opportunities that have been created in and around New Plymouth.
Coastal Walkway in New Plymouth
The Taranaki Salute to the Anzacs – statue in New Plymouth
