Auckland

We've had a surprisingly good time in Auckland despite many local New Zealanders (from other parts of the country) saying that Auckland wasn't worth seeing and wasn't great. It seems as though the North Island people say the South Island isn't great, and the South Islanders say the same about the north. We've enjoyed both...the south for lots of beautiful scenery, small villages, and charm and the north for lots of culture, things to do, etc.

We left our hotel bright and early and things were actually open in Auckland when we set out (being that it's winter here, many of the places we've been haven't opened until 9 or 10 and have shut down by 5). We grabbed our breakfast and began our ascent up Mount Eden. Mount Eden is a volcano. Auckland is built around 26 volcanoes. When we set out, it was sunny and fairly warm. At the base of Mount Eden was a cute park with a great playground. Ed found a fun zip lining ride that basically looked like a toilet plunger attached to a wire above. He rode it down and crashed (supposed to happen) into the four rubber tires above...they stopped you from continuing down. It was lots of fun to ride ("sweet as" as the New Zealanders would say). We then started our walk up the volcano. About half way up, the sky started getting darker, we felt a few drops, but kept going. By the time we reached the top, it was hailing and we were cold and wet. The top offered some nice views, but we didn't stay too long as it was pouring/hailing. We descended the volcano on the other side and the rain stopped. About half an hour later, it started pouring and we took cover under some trees, where we stayed relatively dry. The locals say that because Auckland is on a peninsula, the rain blows in, rains for about a half hour, then stops. That's pretty much what happened. We then walked to the Auckland Museum to get out of the rain again.

The Auckland museum was similar to the Canterbury one in Christchuch, but much bigger. The main attraction was the volcano exhibit...which was quite interesting. Ironically, it didn't rain once while we were in the museum.

After the museum, we walked to a little town called Parnell to stroll around the shops and cafes. Most of the stores were closed because it was Sunday, so we continued our walk to our destination of Mission Bay. While we originally thought it was a fifteen minute walk away, we soon spoke to a local who informed us that it was over three miles (5 k) away. We thought...no problem...but, as usual, it started to pour on us as we were walking...and this time, there was no cover available. Luckily, the rain didn't last long...no more than 10 minutes. The walk out was really nice as we walked along the harbor the whole time.

As soon as we arrived in Mission Bay, we got some gelato. Ed ate tiramisu and Jeanette had chocolate. It was really good. We then walked around trying to find somewhere to eat. It was a cute town...seemed like a small village on Long Island (i.e. Port Jefferson). We ate dinner and it was terrible. Ed didn't even eat half his plate...which is saying something because he can eat almost anything. We caught a bus back since we were about 10 miles from our hotel, it was dark, and we didn't know if it would rain again. We then went to bed.

Today, we woke up early and walked around the city. There wasn't as much shopping as we thought there would be in the central business district. We ate lunch at The Orbit restaurant, which is in the Sky Tower. The Sky Tower is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere...even taller than the Eiffel Tower. The elevator had a glass floor and wall, so you could see down and out...Jeanette was petrified on the way up and wanted to cancel lunch. We made it up safely and had great 360 degree views in the restaurant. The restaurant rotated slightly while eating...it finished one loop in an hour. We saw people walking the sky walk outside around the building...very scary. The people are harnessed to a platform above and the walk is not attached to the building. People were also making the largest jump off any building in New Zealand...a 630 foot drop. Lunch was excellent. Ed had steak with mashed sweet potatoes and spinach. Jeanette had a penne pasta dish with chicken, roasted garlic, eggplant, spinach, and parmesan cheese. The elevator ride down wasn't as bad.

We're now headed to the airport for Sydney. We'll post when we can.