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Our long (thirteen hour) flight from San Francisco (which departed at 9:30pm on Wednesday evening, California time) arrived in Auckland at about 5:30 on Friday morning (thanks to the International Date Line). After collecting our luggage and having it inspected at the quarantine control, we staggered out into the early morning to find our bus. Our bus driver, a Maori, greeted us with a "Tia Ora!" which appears to be the Maori equivalent to the Hawaiian "Aloha!" He provided an entertaining dialog as he worked his way through the early morning commuter traffic to our hotel in the heart of the central business district.
Thankfully, our hotel was prepared for our arrival and had sufficient rooms available for us to check in early. We settled into our room, took quick showers to freshen up after the long trip, and headed out to explore the city. We decided that the Auckland Explorer Bus would be a convenient way to get an overview of the city and see the highlights. The bus drove past most of the tourist highlights, including Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter & Undersea World, the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and the Victoria Park Market. Along the way, I tried to get some good pictures of the city, but this one shows the skyline quite well:
Throughout our stay in Auckland, we were repeatedly reminded that Auckland is known as the "City of Sails." This name is not the result of the America's Cup history here (though they are extremely proud of that here, too!), but because Auckland has more sailboats, per capita, than any other city in the world. Every bay and harbor was filled with sailboats, and I'm sure that on a summer weekend, the sight of all these boats sailing out to sea must be quick spectacular.
Eventually, we found ourselves at the base of the Sky Tower, which is the tallest such tower in the Southern Hemisphere (so that Auckland's response to Sydney might be "Our tower is taller than your tower!").
The next morning, my wife and MIL (among others) decided that they wanted to visit Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter & Undersea World. While that sounded interesting, I had my sights set on the Auckland War Memorial Museum. This impressive building sits atop one of Auckland's many hills, with a commanding view back to the harbor. In addition to housing the Auckland War Memorial, the entire ground floor is dedicated to the Maori and Polynesian culture and history. So, while the others headed out to catch a bus to Kelly Tarlton's, I set off to walk to the museum.
I would spend over three hours wandering the three levels of this museum. The exhibits on the Maori were fabulous, with numerous artifacts and detailed descriptions of the Maori culture and history, and their relationship to other Polynesian cultures. The Polynesian artwork was stunning, and all the exhibits included explanations in both English and Maori. I didn't spend quite as much time on the middle level, which included a number of natural history galleries. The exhibit on New Zealand's geology and volcanoes was closed, which was disappointing, so I moved on to the War Memorial on the top floor.
The War Memorial was established after World War I to provide a place for families to pay their respects to the loved ones who were killed in the war and whose final resting places were so far away. Carved on the walls were the names of all the Auckland area soldiers and sailors who had died in each of the wars that New Zealand has fought in. In the middle is a set of panels with no name on them, but simply bears the inscription "May these panels never be filled."
Surrounding the War Memorial, are a number of galleries that depict the military history of New Zealand, from the early conflicts between the Maori and the first European settlers, to the almost unimaginable sacrifices of the World Wars (in the first World War, one of every five adult New Zealand men fought!), to New Zealand's modern participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions. Each gallery was dedicated to a different war or conflict, and were all quite interesting. The gallery dedicated to the early conflicts between the Maori and the British settlers was very educational, and presented the events from both points of view. The displays showing the struggles of ANZAC (Australia-New Zealand Army Corps) in Turkey, Palestine and Egypt also captured my interest, as it filled in another gap in my understanding of world history.
Along the way, I released a copy of The Thorn Birds in a display on the history of the city of Auckland. This book was also journaled by an Anonymous Finder and was my second catch of the trip.
My wife met me at the museum, having enjoyed Kellly Tarlton's, and together we strolled along the quiet paths through the Domain to the central Business District. The next morning, we packed our bags and headed back to the airport for our short flight to Queenstown and the South Island. Auckland is a pleasant city, with an amazingly diverse population. Someday maybe I'll return and take the time to really explore the rest of the city.
Thankfully, our hotel was prepared for our arrival and had sufficient rooms available for us to check in early. We settled into our room, took quick showers to freshen up after the long trip, and headed out to explore the city. We decided that the Auckland Explorer Bus would be a convenient way to get an overview of the city and see the highlights. The bus drove past most of the tourist highlights, including Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter & Undersea World, the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and the Victoria Park Market. Along the way, I tried to get some good pictures of the city, but this one shows the skyline quite well:
 |
Throughout our stay in Auckland, we were repeatedly reminded that Auckland is known as the "City of Sails." This name is not the result of the America's Cup history here (though they are extremely proud of that here, too!), but because Auckland has more sailboats, per capita, than any other city in the world. Every bay and harbor was filled with sailboats, and I'm sure that on a summer weekend, the sight of all these boats sailing out to sea must be quick spectacular.
Eventually, we found ourselves at the base of the Sky Tower, which is the tallest such tower in the Southern Hemisphere (so that Auckland's response to Sydney might be "Our tower is taller than your tower!").
 |
We stood at the bottom of the tower for a few minutes, soaking in the magnitude of the structure, and then headed in to take the elevator up to the observation deck. The city of Auckland is built on the tops of some 60 extinct or dormant volcanoes, which you begin to appreciate when you have an aerial view of the city. While the city is generally situated on a low lying isthmus between the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea, from the air you can see that it also covers a large number of distinct mounds or hills, which are to cones of the various volcanoes. We were enjoying the views from the observation deck, when suddenly a person dropped past the window! For those who enjoy a good thrill, they have a system that allows people to jump off the tower. They are harnessed to a rig that controls their descent, and guide cables keep them from swinging back into the side of the tower, so its safe (presumably), but certainly not something I was keen to try! I did, however, decide to release a book, one of two I would release in Auckland. I took a picture of Patricia Cornwall's Southern Cross with the city behind it, and left the book on a bench in the observation deck when we left. It would be journaled the next day by an Anonymous Finder, my first catch of the trip! |
The next morning, my wife and MIL (among others) decided that they wanted to visit Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter & Undersea World. While that sounded interesting, I had my sights set on the Auckland War Memorial Museum. This impressive building sits atop one of Auckland's many hills, with a commanding view back to the harbor. In addition to housing the Auckland War Memorial, the entire ground floor is dedicated to the Maori and Polynesian culture and history. So, while the others headed out to catch a bus to Kelly Tarlton's, I set off to walk to the museum.
 |
I would spend over three hours wandering the three levels of this museum. The exhibits on the Maori were fabulous, with numerous artifacts and detailed descriptions of the Maori culture and history, and their relationship to other Polynesian cultures. The Polynesian artwork was stunning, and all the exhibits included explanations in both English and Maori. I didn't spend quite as much time on the middle level, which included a number of natural history galleries. The exhibit on New Zealand's geology and volcanoes was closed, which was disappointing, so I moved on to the War Memorial on the top floor.
 |
The War Memorial was established after World War I to provide a place for families to pay their respects to the loved ones who were killed in the war and whose final resting places were so far away. Carved on the walls were the names of all the Auckland area soldiers and sailors who had died in each of the wars that New Zealand has fought in. In the middle is a set of panels with no name on them, but simply bears the inscription "May these panels never be filled."
Surrounding the War Memorial, are a number of galleries that depict the military history of New Zealand, from the early conflicts between the Maori and the first European settlers, to the almost unimaginable sacrifices of the World Wars (in the first World War, one of every five adult New Zealand men fought!), to New Zealand's modern participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions. Each gallery was dedicated to a different war or conflict, and were all quite interesting. The gallery dedicated to the early conflicts between the Maori and the British settlers was very educational, and presented the events from both points of view. The displays showing the struggles of ANZAC (Australia-New Zealand Army Corps) in Turkey, Palestine and Egypt also captured my interest, as it filled in another gap in my understanding of world history.
Along the way, I released a copy of The Thorn Birds in a display on the history of the city of Auckland. This book was also journaled by an Anonymous Finder and was my second catch of the trip.
My wife met me at the museum, having enjoyed Kellly Tarlton's, and together we strolled along the quiet paths through the Domain to the central Business District. The next morning, we packed our bags and headed back to the airport for our short flight to Queenstown and the South Island. Auckland is a pleasant city, with an amazingly diverse population. Someday maybe I'll return and take the time to really explore the rest of the city.
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