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Published: September 26th 2014
September 21 – It was a rather soggy start to the day, so we had a quieter morning and a longer coffee. As it started to clear, Pat loaded us in her car once again and took us on a tour of Auckland even stopping to let me take a photo of a Pukeko bird – an odd looking blue and black fowl with a red beak.
At Achilles Point we looked out over the Hauraki Gulf and Brown’s Island. It was a cool day with gusty winds so there were no nudists on Ladies Beach which is visible from the point.
Next, we went to a park and lookout that honours, Michael Joseph Savage who was the first labour Prime Minister and initiated the welfare state in New Zealand. Our little tour continued onto North Head and Davenport. This is where fortifications were built in the late 1800’s to defend the island in case of possible attack. A most ingenious disappearing gun was also invented during this time. In the end, there was never an attack, and neither the gun, the men, nor the fortifications saw any action. Today, it is a rather nice
historical site and lookout.
Our tour’s final stop was the Auckland Viaduct Harbour. Here we met up with Mike again, this time at the Snap Dragon Bar to have a glass of wine or beer while we watched the sun sink behind the clouds. Before we left the Bar, Mike pointed out the where there was room hidden behind a shelf of books – just like a James Bond movie!
On our way back to Pat’s home for dinner, we made a short stop at Prime Minister John Key’s residence. This was the fellow that won his third term in office the day before. We took some quick photos – it was a nice home on a nice street with not a whiff of security about and only four minutes away from Pat’s home – It was just so “Kiwi!”
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Pat
non-member comment
We did well!
Considering the rain was blasting down every half hour, amazing you captured these shots!