February 25, 2026

Cruise companies routinely add new ports of call to cruise itineraries to entice new customers and keep seasoned travelers satisfied. New Plymouth, New Zealand, primarily a commercial port, was one such port of call.

The founding fathers of cities across the world try and capture and capitalize on the uniqueness of their city. Medellin is known as “the city of eternal spring”, (I agree.) My hometown, Orlando, Florida is known as “the city beautiful.” (I don’t know if I agree.)

New Plymouth, New Zealand has the iconic volcano Mount Taranaki rising almost perfectly symmetrical. Today was a clear day and it looked almost unreal, like a standalone cone rising from green farmland. The city planners call it “little Mount Fuji” as they feel it resembles the famous mountain outside of Tokyo, Japan. What do you think?

The city also promotes the Rewa Rewa Bridge designed to focus on creating a structure that would “touch lightly” on the land out of respect for the sacred Rewa Rewa burial site nearby reflecting Māori heritage. It’s often cited as an example of how infrastructure can double as public art. Today, the Waiwhakaiho River was low, so you do not get a good perspective. On clear days, Mount Taranaki sits perfectly framed inside the curve. That alignment wasn’t accidental; it was a deliberate design choice.

Unfortunately, New Plymouth also has an infamous reputation that would be known to my generation.

“Agent Orange” was a powerful herbicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. Its purpose was to remove forest cover used by opposing forces, strip jungle foliage and destroy crops. Agent Orange was contaminated with dioxin one of the most toxic compounds ever studied. Dioxin interferes with hormones and immune function, can persist in the environment for decades and accumulate in human fat tissue. Agent Orange caused devastating long-term health effects in Vietnam, where millions were exposed at very high levels. Dioxin was produced by the Dow Chemical Company in a chemical plant in New Plymouth. A New Zealand government health study found elevated dioxin levels in former workers but did not conclude there was widespread community contamination. However, debate and community concern have continued over the years.

We found it interesting that school children waved at our tour bus as we traveled through the city. Even this Jersey cow seemed a little curious.

It wasn’t until our tour guide told us the reason.

According to him, we are the one and only cruise ship stopping in New Plymouth this year.

Thanks for traveling with us.