Auckland
I haven't mentioned before that most of the pictures shown on the blog can be seen in larger format if you click on the picture.
We've enjoyed our first day here in Auckland, City of Sails. After a long sleep, we ventured out to do our first genuine tourist activity. We went to Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter/Underwater World which was pretty interesting. The site features numerous wildlife attractions, such as Stingrays
Sharks that swim outside an acrylic underwater tunnel
Penguins in an artificially "natural" habitat
and lots of other small fish and less small crustaceans. There was also a re-creation of the cabin built by the Scott Antarctic expedition (1901-04) which was very detailed and well done. The entire attraction is built into the side of the hill on the edge of the water with decks and a pier built around the harbourside. It was a very windy day today.
Following our visit to the aquarium, we set out to face our first serious drive-around in our rental car. NZ is one of those drive-on-the-left countries, so it's fun and nerve wracking to navigate around this city.
There are two additional challenges. The first is that the drivers here are as agressive and fearless as you will find (except, perhaps in Montreal). No space between cars is too small to stuff yourself into. Unless you are within a few inches of the bumper of the car in front, you're driving too cautiously. It's nuts.
The second challenge is that the city planners appear to have been on hallucinogenic drugs when they laid out the city. Auckland is built on the waterfront, with several large-ish hills incorporated into the cityscape. There isn't a single major road or street that goes in a straight line, and most of them dead end somewhere. Just about every major route also undergoes at least one, sometimes three name changes along its length. For complete newcomers trying to navigate from one end of the city to the other across city streets, it was quite an adventure.
We did some needed shopping and after a stop for a refreshment on supposedly famous Ponsonby Road (we found nothing in particular to recommend it)we headed back to our apartment.
Once back we dropped off the rental car and headed out for some dinner. On the way we noticed the large ship that had docked on the other side of the wharf from us (somehow we completely missed it when we drove in - that tells you how absorbed we were in that particular task). For the record, the Queen Elizabeth 2 is really really big.
We went for dinner and then walked out to the end of Prince's Wharf to get a closer look at the many sailboats out in the harbour. It seems Wednesday night is race night in Auckland, as there were at least two races underway. Click on this picture to get a better view of how busy it was.
I'll leave the details about life in Auckland (Cheese? Have we got Cheese!) for another day, and I will finish with a few more pictures of the harbour and boats.
This is an America's cup boat - check out the guy at the top of the mast.
Some guy blocking the view of the harbour from our balcony
A shot looking toward shore from our apartment
That's it for today. Until the next update ...
Don
We've enjoyed our first day here in Auckland, City of Sails. After a long sleep, we ventured out to do our first genuine tourist activity. We went to Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter/Underwater World which was pretty interesting. The site features numerous wildlife attractions, such as Stingrays
Sharks that swim outside an acrylic underwater tunnel
Penguins in an artificially "natural" habitat
and lots of other small fish and less small crustaceans. There was also a re-creation of the cabin built by the Scott Antarctic expedition (1901-04) which was very detailed and well done. The entire attraction is built into the side of the hill on the edge of the water with decks and a pier built around the harbourside. It was a very windy day today.
Following our visit to the aquarium, we set out to face our first serious drive-around in our rental car. NZ is one of those drive-on-the-left countries, so it's fun and nerve wracking to navigate around this city.
There are two additional challenges. The first is that the drivers here are as agressive and fearless as you will find (except, perhaps in Montreal). No space between cars is too small to stuff yourself into. Unless you are within a few inches of the bumper of the car in front, you're driving too cautiously. It's nuts.
The second challenge is that the city planners appear to have been on hallucinogenic drugs when they laid out the city. Auckland is built on the waterfront, with several large-ish hills incorporated into the cityscape. There isn't a single major road or street that goes in a straight line, and most of them dead end somewhere. Just about every major route also undergoes at least one, sometimes three name changes along its length. For complete newcomers trying to navigate from one end of the city to the other across city streets, it was quite an adventure.
We did some needed shopping and after a stop for a refreshment on supposedly famous Ponsonby Road (we found nothing in particular to recommend it)we headed back to our apartment.
Once back we dropped off the rental car and headed out for some dinner. On the way we noticed the large ship that had docked on the other side of the wharf from us (somehow we completely missed it when we drove in - that tells you how absorbed we were in that particular task). For the record, the Queen Elizabeth 2 is really really big.
We went for dinner and then walked out to the end of Prince's Wharf to get a closer look at the many sailboats out in the harbour. It seems Wednesday night is race night in Auckland, as there were at least two races underway. Click on this picture to get a better view of how busy it was.
I'll leave the details about life in Auckland (Cheese? Have we got Cheese!) for another day, and I will finish with a few more pictures of the harbour and boats.
This is an America's cup boat - check out the guy at the top of the mast.
Some guy blocking the view of the harbour from our balcony
A shot looking toward shore from our apartment
That's it for today. Until the next update ...
Don
posted by Don at
5:09 am
5 Comments:
this trip looks great. the penguins look so sweet. i secretly want to get bella a pet penguin. i think they'd make great friends.
By
Anonymous, at 11:59 am
Back here we've been navigating numerous subway delays and shutdowns plus a fare hike!!!
The wind chill this morning is -14degC.
Whooping cough outbreak in Toronto.
Are you homesick? LOL
So, is it freaky seeing water flush the other way around?
By
Anonymous, at 7:26 am
Okay, I don't notice which way the water flushes!
I was on the QE2 when I was 10 (so smaller than I am now), and the best fun was getting lost in the 1st class section (where I was not allowed to be). It could take a week to get to every place on that boat, which has all of the amenities of a small city. At the time it was cheaper to take two weeks on the QE2 to get to England than to fly and stay in a hotel for the two weeks. I suspect times have changed.
Your pictures are amazing, though Deb is looking a little chilly in the wind. The sailing day is beautiful.
By
Anonymous, at 2:12 pm
You guys having any trouble with the accent down there? I've heard that english from the mouths of NZers sounds like a foreign language.
By
Anonymous, at 5:05 am
Yes, we do find the language sometimes challenging. Debbie is practicing her Kiwi accent, so I expect by the end I won't be able to understand her either.
By
Don, at 10:34 pm
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