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Published: January 12th 2010
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Auckland's skyline from the habour bridge
Water and boats are a key part of Auckland's life The City of Sails (or should that be Sales?)
I now see why this is called a coach tour. It’s day 9 of my travels, and day 3 of the Kirra tour, and we have to drive from Paihia (north of Auckland) to Rotorua (south east of Auckland), and it will take most of the day.
Don’t get me wrong - it is only 500km in total, and Peter will give us a 3 hour break in Auckland, so the trip will be cut up into manageable chunks. And as ever, Peter’s commentary helps to pass away the distance when we are driving. He has added ‘translator’ to his list of roles now, and gives us the Maori and English names of each village and town, together with an original meaning. He tells us that if we listen carefully, and take good notes, we may get to the level where we can add Maori to our C.V. under in beginner category.
Anyway, I was up late last night writing my blog, so I decided to have a little rest on the coach while heading down to Auckland.
What do you want to know about Auckland? I can
tell you that it has 1.4 million inhabitants (NZ has a total of 4m), and 1 in 7 residents owns a boat (thus the city of sails label). The city is built on a load of dormant volcanoes, with Mount Eden being the tallest.
Auckland’s skyline is dominated by the Sky Tower. This boasts as being even taller than the Eifel Tower (do I hear a sharp intake of breath?), and has a revolving restaurant near the top. It seems to me that the Kiwis are mad about adrenaline pumping activities, and anything that involves being hurtled through the air at unnatural speeds attracts the crowds. For a couple of hundred dollars, you can jump off the top of the sky tower. It’s quite safe as you get a blue and yellow jump suit, and instruction. Oh yes, and did I mention that there are two cables from the top to the bottom that you are guided by. So, you know exactly where your crumpled body will end up after the exhilarating experience.
What happens is you walk out to the edge without looking down. A third cable is hooked to your back and you are asked to
Auckland's CBD
The central business district of Auckland is nothing like the rest of the country - no little wooden bungalows here slowly lean forwards. Once you are leaning at about 45 degrees, they let go, but just for 25 meters. You fall down to the level of the revolving restaurant where they’ll pause the operation, and hold you dangling until you show that you are still alive by getting into the star position. Then, they really let you fly like a brick, and you hurtle towards that nice big round green thing.
There is of course a brake just before impact, so most victims end up feeling as high as a kite as they have conquered a mega fear and lived to tell the tale. Have a look at my video of one rich thrill seeker.
After viewing Auckland from the Sky Tower, (and not jumping), it was off to Rotorua. Don’t miss the next action packed instalment from the city where they eat nothing but boiled eggs and baked beans.
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Dave Powell
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Hi Keith, Happy New Year from Bristol. Really enjoying your blog, sounds like you are having a great time, the Cook Islands look brilliant. Whilst we enjoyed our stay in NZ about 10 years ago, possibly like you, we thought it was a long way to go for countryside which was no better than home. As you have probably heard we have had great snow over here for the last couple of weeks, but it has sadly now disappeared. Enjoy the rest out your trip, Dave