Auckland

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Despite not getting into bed until 02h30, the day came round a little too soon. I had set the alarm, but was awake far too early. I’ll put it down to the fact that it was my first night in a strange bed. Drawing back the curtain, I could see a blue sky. The rest of the view from the window doesn’t deserve any mention, except to say that it is a cheap car park! Having showered, I went down stairs to breakfast and feasted (well, not really) on coffee (only one cup as the machine ran out), tea (Ceylon and Green), orange juice (fresh), water melon (nearly ripe), pineapple (fresh), bacon (I think), mushrooms (interesting flavour) and fried egg (almost cooked). After a quick look at the paper, it was back to the room to decide on the day’s schedule.

First task was to buy a new SIM card for the phone as my previous number had expired through lack of use. Off to Dick Smith Electronics where a very nice man swapped my old SIM card for a new one. I managed to get $5 free and if I register, I’ll get another $10 - that’ll do nicely!

Next, it was off to The New Zealand shop where I wanted to get a new rugby shirt. At the same time, I decided to use one of the vouchers I’d acquired in order to get my free pen. Whilst waiting at the counter, a complete stranger wandered across and asked if I knew where Kerry was. Putting on my finest English accent, I politely told him I didn’t know the area but I had a map. He went away confused and I went one point up!

Having made my purchases it was off to see the sights. Wandering down to the harbour, I leapt out into the wind, crossed the road at the lights and sauntered in the sunshine towards Viaduct Basin. There has been an item on the news in the morning about a yacht that had sprung a leak and the fire brigade were busy pumping out the water. When I got there, I can only presume that either they failed and the boat sank without trace or that it was towed away for repair!

The boats and yachts looked stunning in the spring sunshine, their lanyards chiming against the masts. I can only imagine what it must be like in summer - probably more people to ruin it I suspect! It was then out with the camera, lots of photos of boats and views of the Sky Tower and a slow walk in the sun. Having quite a heavy bag, I decided the next best thing was to return to the hotel (via the Sky Tower) and lighten the bag. The Sky Tower is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere and the lifts only take 40 seconds to reach the top. I’m advised that there is a 360 degree view of Auckland from the top - but I can assure you, I’m not going to prove that one way or another!

Having got back to the hotel, I took the opportunity to download some photos where, to my horror, I discovered that some of the photos had dust marks on them. In fact, I could detect the marks on all the photos so I knew it wasn’t the lenses at fault, but the sensor - not something you want to play with.

With a plan of action for the afternoon, the first task was to find a camera shop and purchase a puffer. Typical; I walked all the way up Queen’s Street, only to find that there are only two camera shops and that they’re both next to each other down Queen’s Street. The first shop didn’t have any puffers but offered to clean the sensor for $60. Politely declining, I wandered next door and not only bought a puffer, but also persuaded the guy behind the counter to demonstrate how it worked. I now had a clean camera!!!

So it was out into the sun again, up High Street past the rather expensive looking shops and across to Albert Park. No surprises that this park was laid out in the 1880 with a strong Victorian flavour. During WWII, the ornamental guns were buried in order to discourage any air attack and extensive tunnels and air-raid shelters were built. Interestingly, only two of the guns have been uncovered (in 1977) and are now on display.

Getting to the top of the hill, I was greeted by the first signs of spring; lots of students sitting out on the grass enjoying the sun whilst the gardeners busied themselves filling the empty beds. Taking the opportunity, I sauntered to the flower beds and started some close-up photography. I was soon joined by a young lady with a Nikon SLR - she was busy snapping away but I couldn’t help notice that the camera didn’t have a lens! I’m presuming she’ll discover that when all her photos come out black!

Walking through the park, I passed through the grounds of Auckland University and down the hill towards The Domain. What a difference a year makes. In August 2006, the rain was coming down like stair rods and you only had to look at it in order to get wet. Today, the sky was blue, the sun was out and I was in a t-shirt - not bad for Spring.

The Domain is developed around the cone of an extinct volcano making for some very interesting walks. There are several bush walks leading to the summit and it was on one of these that I headed. After a very pleasant, but short, walk, I reached the duck ponds and behind them, lunch. After a quick bite, it was off to The Winter Gardens which consists of two glasshouses separated by an ornamental pond. The ‘cool’ house was totally resplendent in its colourful display whilst the ‘hot’ house was surprisingly more modest. And the Fernery - well, to be honest, I was more impressed by the gigantic pergola required to hold the Wisteria than anything else!

Back in the hotel, it’s time to download the photos and check that I’ve no longer any dust marks. It’s getting towards the end of the day (17h00) and hard to believe that I’ve come to the end of my Friday, whilst those the UK have it all to do!

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Photos

Auckland's Sky Tower
... and people pay money to fall off?

Albert Park
Apparently, there's air raid shelters under here ...