Three Days in one Post
Sunday 30th. March.
Drive to Auckland 5 hours.
Very pleasant through rolling grassland like American ranching country on a
very much smaller scale. Then lot of forestry plantations. Later farmland as
approach Auckland. Then hit outskirts 30km from centre. Industrial Estates
mainly. Heavy traffic on State Highway 1, but all very relaxed. Traffic moves
steadily on at 100k, lanes and slip roads are well marked and signed. Sat Nav
finds Hotel no bother, and although I wouldn’t drive in London, I would have no
qualms driving in Auckland even though it is NZ’s largest city with ¼ of the
population of NZ living here: the roads are set out simply, are just spacious
enough, and well equipped with signs, markings, traffic lights and a particular
kind of push button pedestrian crossing. Tired enough so chill out at hotel.
Good Restaurant, Good Food, Pretty and Pleasant Waitress.
Only day I haven’t taken any
photos.
Monday 31st. March.
Morning: return hire car and
shop for pressies and chocolate: it is harder pounding the streets than walking
up mountains, and it is very hot: 24˚C, but must be hotter in the city. Note
for future: if travelling in heat, get sandals: trainers can be a nightmare.
Afternoon: take a walk from
hotel via old suburban housing with a small City Council Nature Reserve cum Park
in the middle, to nearby City Council Rose Garden. Hundred or more varieties;
still in bloom. Walk down the hill to the outdoor swimming pool (wish I had
brought my trunks) back past the container port and back up hill to hotel via
big City Council Public Park surrounding the Museum. I will leave this the
Museum for another day, as I am very tired.
Only a small part of the Rose Garden
Tuesday 1st.April.
My intentions of getting a
boat ride around the harbour, and going up the Skytower are achieved and more,
despite the morning fog.
I catch the bus from my hotel
suburb down to the city. Yesterday I walked it twice, but I want to stay
rested, and the service is excellent with a number of circular routes running
both ways every 10 or 15 minutes: fixed price however far you go (season
tickets used by locals and school kids.)
First of all I have a look at
all the incredibly expensive yachts in the harbour
At the i-Site I suss out the
opportunities, and am disappointed that the sailing boat doesn’t run on Tuesdays,
although there are plenty of other motorised options. I decide to visit the
Maritime Museum first, and find that they do a sailing boat run on one of the
last sail work boats that were the transport system of the nation before the
road system was developed. No wind so they have to rely on a later fitted
diesel engine, but very pleasant trip out to the harbour bridge with a
volunteer crew of retired gentleman and one lady, who haul up the sails for
show at least, and make it look very easy.
After which I spend a good
while in the museum. It is imaginatively themed and laid out: very informative.
Lot of large and model native canoes of a many Pacific variations. Lot of
models of European vessels from Abel Tasman and Cook to merchant shipping from
settler period of mid 1800s to near present day. Large section on Yachting from
Dingys through the ages to Americas Cup.
Then go to the Skytower.
I have had a good look at it
from the ground and like the simplicity of its design and the quality of its
construction so I reckon it is safe to ascend. I am a little worried about
vertigo: I was always happier on rock climbs than I was in a Skyscraper.
The lifts have glass floors
and are incredibly smooth and fast. I do the round of the observation deck at
182 metres, and have lunch.
Yes I have walked around that
outer halo you will have noticed from earlier photos. I know it is April 1st.
and there were a few jokes about it as we stepped out, but I did it. It is at 192 metre level.
We were guided round, would
you believe, for ½ an hour by a bouncy non-stop talker of an 18 year old girl
from the Cook Islands. Apparently she had been chosen for her gabbiness and communication
skills, not for experience with heights and ropes.
After that I took the circular bus route home the
long way round to see a bit more of Auckland’s suburbs. The route seemed to
follow the main drags, and was a ½ hour trip through endless shopping streets,
with a few business premises between: quite incredible: Auckland is a big city.
Tomorrow I will have time to see the Museum, which
is just up the road from the hotel, before my flight at 6.30 pm.
The 2nd. storey level houses the History of all NZ's conflicts since the wars with the Maori in mid 1800's, and very moving, with lots of weapon exhibits. I notice that 2 Chappells are listed on the Memorial Wall for Auckland in WW2, but none for WW1.
There is a large Natural History and Geological section in the 1st. storey.
Ground Level has an unbelievably large and collection of the best of Maori and other Pacific Islands objects, all in excellent condition, from warfare, to everyday living, to art and religion. Also the biggest war canoe to hold 100 warriors around 50 metres long and all carved out of one tree.
Wednesday 2nd. April.
I have added this as I rest up before going to the airport, as I was so impressed by Auckland's War Memorial Museum. It is far better than Te Papa the National Museum in Wellington.The 2nd. storey level houses the History of all NZ's conflicts since the wars with the Maori in mid 1800's, and very moving, with lots of weapon exhibits. I notice that 2 Chappells are listed on the Memorial Wall for Auckland in WW2, but none for WW1.
There is a large Natural History and Geological section in the 1st. storey.
Ground Level has an unbelievably large and collection of the best of Maori and other Pacific Islands objects, all in excellent condition, from warfare, to everyday living, to art and religion. Also the biggest war canoe to hold 100 warriors around 50 metres long and all carved out of one tree.
Taxi to Airport in 1/2 an hour.
THE END
And I have to keep pinching myself to prove it’s
not all just a fantastic dream: Absolutely Incredible.
Sounds like you've had a wonderful time. We'll be pleased to welcome you back on Thursday. Safe journey. X
ReplyDelete