First Day in Auckland
Tiffany
and I are enjoying some Australian cop shows and unwinding from a busy, tiring
day. We had an exhaustive wander around
much of Auckland, getting to see many sites along the way (and burning off a
big meal).
From downtown, we headed up a massive hill toward Albert Park and the University of Auckland. We ended up walking through campus, a pretty University setting, on the way to the Auckland Domain (the large park for the city). After climbing another massive hill (with a breather or two on the way to the top) we arrived at the Auckland Museum on a hilltop overlooking the city and Waitemata Harbour. We spent a few hours exploring the museum – a repository of cultural and geological items from around the Pacific as well as the top floor devoted to New Zealand contributions to wars throughout time. Upon leaving the museum we headed down a hill in the Domain to the Wintergraden, two large greenhouses and an outdoor fern garden, before heading back across the park to walk over to Parnell.
It was quite a trek up another massive hill (seeing a common theme here?) to Parnell Street, but we were rewarded with a wide array of restaurants to provide us with sustenance to carry-on. We decided on Verve and both thoroughly enjoyed our meals; I loved my corn fritters and bacon over rocket (arugula) with sweet chili sauce. After lunch we headed to the Parnell Rose Garden, a fifteen minute walk via Holy Trinity Cathedral. The gardens were nice, reminded me (on a smaller scale) of the international rose test garden in Portland. We headed down toward to coast and sat for a bit looking out from a cliff across Waitemata toward the volcanic island of Rangitoto (where we plan to take a ferry to tomorrow). Finally, as the sun began to set, we headed back to downtown along the coast, stopping at Countdown (a grocery store chain – the same as Woolworth’s in Australia, but just operates under a different name). Wandering the store, it was quickly clear that grocery stores in New Zealand very closely resemble stores in America, compared to the stores in Australia (the prices are also a lot more reasonable than those in Sydney).
After eight and a half hours of wandering the city we came back and crashed, content with the day. With a bit of L&P – a distinctly New Zealand soft drink, and a New Zealand candy bar each, we are ready for some rest and a big day tomorrow.
We
headed out from the hotel a bit after 10:00 and grabbed breakfast on Albert
Street at Ronnie's Café – a self-serving diner /
bakery. We enjoyed getting to select
from many delectable (I went with a muesli wedge and breakfast quiche) and
talked about our plans for the day.
After breakfast we walked down to the Ferry Building, an historic
centerpiece along the waterfront, and then along the shore and out into the
Harbour on Queens Wharf. From Freemans
Bay we made our way down the waterfront along Quay Street to Britomart, a
redeveloped row of historic buildings turned trendy restaurants and
stores. We wended our way through into a
large open plaza, Queen Elizabeth II Square, and relaxed for a bit in oversized
bean bags laid out on the green lawn.
From downtown, we headed up a massive hill toward Albert Park and the University of Auckland. We ended up walking through campus, a pretty University setting, on the way to the Auckland Domain (the large park for the city). After climbing another massive hill (with a breather or two on the way to the top) we arrived at the Auckland Museum on a hilltop overlooking the city and Waitemata Harbour. We spent a few hours exploring the museum – a repository of cultural and geological items from around the Pacific as well as the top floor devoted to New Zealand contributions to wars throughout time. Upon leaving the museum we headed down a hill in the Domain to the Wintergraden, two large greenhouses and an outdoor fern garden, before heading back across the park to walk over to Parnell.
It was quite a trek up another massive hill (seeing a common theme here?) to Parnell Street, but we were rewarded with a wide array of restaurants to provide us with sustenance to carry-on. We decided on Verve and both thoroughly enjoyed our meals; I loved my corn fritters and bacon over rocket (arugula) with sweet chili sauce. After lunch we headed to the Parnell Rose Garden, a fifteen minute walk via Holy Trinity Cathedral. The gardens were nice, reminded me (on a smaller scale) of the international rose test garden in Portland. We headed down toward to coast and sat for a bit looking out from a cliff across Waitemata toward the volcanic island of Rangitoto (where we plan to take a ferry to tomorrow). Finally, as the sun began to set, we headed back to downtown along the coast, stopping at Countdown (a grocery store chain – the same as Woolworth’s in Australia, but just operates under a different name). Wandering the store, it was quickly clear that grocery stores in New Zealand very closely resemble stores in America, compared to the stores in Australia (the prices are also a lot more reasonable than those in Sydney).
After eight and a half hours of wandering the city we came back and crashed, content with the day. With a bit of L&P – a distinctly New Zealand soft drink, and a New Zealand candy bar each, we are ready for some rest and a big day tomorrow.
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