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Published: January 28th 2010
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Skyline
As seen from Ponsonby, Auckland's CBD sits behind Western Park. Today started off with a run around the city. I’m not in training for anything right now so it was just for fun. And fun it was.
I was surprised yesterday evening when I saw tons of people running throughout the city. It’s remarkable how well the people here stay in shape.
My run took me up and down numerous hills as I ran across Grafton Bridge, through the sizeable Auckland Domain and a few covered trails, up the steep Grafton Road and into Myers Park. At the Park I did a few pushups, pull-ups and chin-ups before finishing off my workout with a run up the stairs as I left it.
After showering, getting changed and eating breakfast, I set out on my day’s worth of touring. My first destination was the Ponsonby neighborhood, about a half mile west of the hostel. Ponsonby was described as one of two suburban neighborhoods that visitors
must see. Well, it isn’t even remotely suburban as we define it in the United States, but it is a charming little city neighborhood outside the central business district (CBD). It has numerous restaurants, shops and bars lining its main road.
I checked
Harbor
One of the city's harbors. I ate lunch by the brick building. out one of the shops along the way, a bookstore dedicated to cooking. I don’t remember seeing anything quite like this before. Inside, cuisines were represented from around the world, including many dedicated to Kiwi cooking and barbecuing.
After leaving Ponsonby, I walked through Western Park to get to the CBD and the adjacent harbors. I arrived at the harbors just after noon when many of the nearby office workers were taking their lunch breaks. Many of them dined at the numerous restaurants that surrounded the harbors, eating while they overlooked the massive sailboats and yachts on the water. I grabbed a sandwich, banana and some water and sat on some steps taking in a similar view, along with many others.
After my own lunch hour, I headed back into the CBD to the Sky Tower, the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. Outside the building, I watched a few people do static base jumps off the building’s viewing platform high above. Afterwards, I walked around the inside where there were several restaurants, a casino and a visitors’ center.
I left the CBD to go to Parnell, the other of the two suburban neighborhoods. On the way
Sky Tower
The city's tall tower. Static base jumps were performed from the viewing platform. I walked through and sat on a bench in Albert Park. People were picnicking and sunbathing all around, enjoying the clear skies and bright sun.
At this point, it would have been smart to find a seat in the shade. But that’s not my style. Instead I went the all-too-familiar route of getting a sunburned face, neck and arms.
Parnell was much like Ponsonby but was a bit more spread out. Except for a small village of shops, I didn’t see anything particularly fascinating and went through Parnell and the adjacent Auckland Domain quickly.
When I got back, it was dinnertime so I got cleaned up and walked back out to Ponsonby, where I found a Chipotle knockoff.
I’m glad I stayed in Auckland for a couple days before moving on. It was about what I expected - nothing spectacular to see or do but an easy transition back into the travel life. What was surprising is just how stunning a city Auckland is. It has countless parks with vividly green vegetation, rolling hills and a surrounding body of water that accent the CBD nicely. Nevertheless, spending nearly two full days was plenty of time.
Albert Park
Trees form a tunnel in Albert Park. Tonight was an early-to-bed night as I have to get up at 5:00 am to catch my flight to Queenstown on the South Island.
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