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Published: January 29th 2010
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View from the railway platform
Moral of the story - don't sit on dormant volcanos I’ve been in New Zealand now for nearly 2 weeks, and it’s time for a relaxing day. I’m staying in a motel out of town and have a suite with access to swimming pool, sauna and spa bath plus internet and laundry facilities. So, a gentle potter is all I’ll do today.
Step one is a visit to the local Pak ‘n Save for a few supplies. This is one of 5 supermarket chains which all seem to open 7 days a week from early to late in the major towns and cities. That’s quite a change for New Zealand where only a few decades ago, shops did not open on Saturdays as free time in the weekend was highly valued.
I then took a day ticket for the local train, bus and ship services in Greater Auckland for a cost of 7 Euros. The trains look like something from a park (they are short and have a narrow gauge) but it all works. In the centre of town the old post office has been turned into the new central railway station called Britomart. On the surface this looks like the traditional grand original structure, but go down 2
Nice view
Can be gained from the observation car of the Wellington to Auckland dailly train levels for the platforms, via an intermediate floor for general facilities. What is striking is the materials used and design of the lower levels which are intended to reflect New Zealand’s nature, but in shiny metal. The roof of the lower levels contains a row of cones designed to look like volcanoes. These let daylight into the platform area unless people use them to sit on while enjoying their picnic outside. The views from below can be surprising.
Although the suburban trains look like toys, the one long distance train on the Auckland - Wellington line per day is a bit more stylish with a nice observation car at the end and an outside viewing platform half way down the train.
I plan to hire a mobile home in a few days so was interested to see which vehicles were out there. It seems like NZ is being rocked by a dispute about camper vans which have been popular for many years. Traditionally, you have a mobile home with shower, toilet, sufficient clean water tank (100 litres or more) and both grey and black dirty water retention tanks plus an LPG gas cooker and small kitchen area. This
Auckland harbour at night
as seen from the Devonport ferry means you are self contained so can stop wherever the fancy takes you (except in the middle of towns), and stay a night without causing any problems for either the local community or the environment.
However, a new breed of so called camper van has appeared on the market, priced at the lower end, but having none or very few facilities. As a result, litter and general damage to off road overnight stops has increased, and many communities have started to ban free camping. What I found especially interesting was the way these basic vehicles were branded. The two styles I saw were the Spaceships (all with individual Sci-Fi names) and the Wicked Campers (all with designer graffiti and catchy slogans). As you see in the photos, these are just people carriers with the back seat folded down. I saw lots of them though, so books seem to be judged by covers here.
To end off my lazy day, I took a ferry across the harbour to Devonport. This is a traditional town with its own volcano, many street cafes, and the New Zealand navy. It’s a nice place to sit and watch the world go by, and
Wicked travel
A sign of the times in camper van marketing as I found out on my way back, you get a great night time view of Auckland’s CBD when the ferry returns.
Back to my motel now for a sauna and a comfortable night sleep.
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