This is the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge in New Plymouth. It is an iconic architectural structure that was interesting enough to get me to visit it twice in the two days I spent in New Plytmouth. The Bridge was opened in 2010, it spans the Waiwhakaiho River and is part of the city’s coastal walkway, which in itself is sort of interesting but the briudge itself is the highlight.

It is particularly renowned for its unique design, which resembles the ribcage of a whale, a nod to the area's Māori heritage, where the word Te Rewa Rewa translates to “the bones of the whale.” T

With its sweeping curves, if you chance it right and it isn't covered in clouds it will frame Mount Taranaki, Mount Taranaki is a dormant stratovolcano (yes I had to look that up) located on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island and a fair distance, maybe 25km from the bridge. It is huge Standing 2,518 meters tall, it’s one of the country’s most iconic mountains, famous for its symmetrical, snow-capped peak, although in April it is too early for snow.

The mountain is deeply significant in Māori culture, believed to be the resting place of a revered ancestral figure. Oh and if you think it looks a little like Mount Fuji, well so did the makers of The Last Samurai. which is a Tom Cruise movie set in Japan that was filmed here in NZ with Mt Taranaki playing the roll of Mt Fuji