Auckland - City of Sails

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Just got back from a long weekend in Auckland. After a few days moping around in Whangarei with Deb's family, I decided I needed to get out and start traveling again instead of sitting around dwelling on having my bags stolen.

I set out on Friday morning and arrived in Auckland around noon. I dropped my bag off at the hostel and set off to explore. I ended up at the SkyTower, which is the Southern Hemisphere's largest tower at 328m. Shorter than the CN Tower, but with some amazing views. I went on a clear day and the view from the top was fantastic. There's 3 different levels you can look from, and the highest one is the best. You can lean on the walls and see for miles. I could have spent most of my day up there.

Unfortunately I couldn't. On my way into the SkyTower I noticed an advertisement for "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and, remembering the reviews in NYC, I decided to go. You can volunteer to go on stage too, but I was too late getting to the theatre, so I missed my debut. Damn. It was an entertaining show and I had amazing seats (4 rows back, centre stage), so it was a good night.

On Saturday I headed out to explore some of Auckland's markets. First up was Aotera Market, which is full of people selling handmade products (or at least they appeared to be handmade). There was a wicked vibe there with people singing in groups and people milling around. Next up was Victoria Park Market, which is mostly shops. I didn't really like it very much, but there was a reggae band playing so I stuck around a bit longer to listen. Victoria Park is a beautiful park and I took some time out to relax and watch some cricket. Still not to sure about the rules, but Deb's cousin's explanation seemed to help a bit. Finally was Auckland's Fish Market, which had a lot of interesting fish that I have never seen before, but it was nothing compared to Tokyo's. I guess I shouldn't compare the two considering the size and scope of the cities, but it was hard not to, and so I left feeling a little disappointed.

I headed back into town by walking along the harbour. I never realized it, but I love harbours. The boats are awesome, the atmosphere is chill, and the sound of water breaking on the docks is amazing. I could have spent a lot of time there, but I realized there was a harbour cruise available for a cheap price, so I hopped on board. The cruise was good, though it was hard to hear the commentary over some of the more rowdy passengers. The skyline was amazing though, and I'd definitely recommend a harbour cruise to anyone going to Auckland. As we were going under Harbour Bridge, someone bungied off and hit the water. It was really cool to see as I'll never do that!

Sunday was spent at the Auckland museum. I'm not usually a museum person, but I decided to give it a go. It's in a beautiful building that was inspired by Roman architechture. The two men that built it fought in WW1 and were stationed in Italy so when they came back they built it on a hill to remind them of Italy. The museum's top floor is dedicated to war and they have halls covered in the names of Aucklanders that fought in each war. It was overwhelming. The rest of the museum is dedicated to New Zealand, Maori, and the world (flora, fauna, volcanoes, etc). You could spend hours in there!

Finally I took a ferry across the harbour to Devonport where tunnels were built for different military purposes. I'm not exactly sure what though as nothing was really marked and the pamphlets left something to be desired. You'll have to go to find out for yourself.

Auckland is a wicked city. It's big enough to be a city, but small enough that you're not overwhelmed. After three days there I think I've seen everything that interests me, but who knows. I met some people who have been living at the hostel for weeks just hanging out. Maybe that's what my next step should be. Nah, I like the movement and the countryside more. Never thought I'd say that!

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