Our first several days in New Zealand were in Auckland on the North Island. Auckland is the big city, a million and a half—the whole nation is only 4 million—and our hotel, the Auckland City Hotel, is downtown, on Hobson St., 3 blocks north of the main downtown shopping area, Queen St. The hotel is an older 1912 structure, but very recently modernized and re-done. Somehow we got upgraded to a suite, US$46 a night. The Sky City Tower (300m space needle/bungy jump) is a block away. It's hard not to like a country. where sheep outnumber humans 19:1, and there are bungy jumps at every major intersection. Bungy is the original spelling here in NZ, where the sport originated and was perfected. New Zealanders invented adventure tourism, we understand. And bungy-jumping is now considered unremarkable, here.
We cruised the downtown shopping area on Tuesday, getting oriented...lots of interesting stores and shops, including an unusually high number of bookstores and “second-hand” bookstores. The two gear shops, Bivouac and Kathmandu, were having their Christmas sales, so we began such camper-outfitting as was needed immediately. Both Vicki and I also purchased shirts, increasing the size of our wardrobes by a third. We also looked into devices for connecting the laptop to the internet while on the road and camping. They are expensive, and it is unclear they'd work elsewhere (e.g., the US and Europe), so we have decided to rely on free wifi, cyber-cafes and campground computers. Not as convenient, but at least affordable. Dinner was at Mezze, a middle-eastern sort of restaurant, where I began my personal assault on the NZ green lip mussel population. They are even larger, tenderer, tastier, on their home ground (as it were).
On our second full day, we took the ferry to Devonport, a touristy old town on an island in the harbor—it is a huge complicated harbor—and climbed Mt. Victoria, an old volcano remnant, a whole 90m high, for the view. Unfortunately, the view was mostly of the incoming squall. But Auckland has a beautiful skyline, especially from the water, with all the marinas and sails. It is called “The City of Sails.” From what we have read, 1 in every 4 Aucklanders owns a boat. Main street in Devonport had three 2nd-hand bookstores, and the pier had two. Lunch was pulled-pork bar-b-q in a joint owned by a Pennsylvania native.
We ferried back to Auckland and then took the bus to the Auckland Museum, a beautiful old structure set on a hill in the Domain overlooking the city. The Museum is known for its Maori and general Polynesian collections, and also its war memorial collections, including a Zero and an Spitfire (two aiircraft, I submit, that never met in war). The Maori stuff was incredible, in diversity and size and intricacy. The hundred-warrior canoe was especially impressive. Even more impressive was the tree from which it apparently was dug-out. Dinner was at a crepes place a block from the hotel. Auckland appears to have just about every conceivable cuisine.
We cruised the downtown shopping area on Tuesday, getting oriented...lots of interesting stores and shops, including an unusually high number of bookstores and “second-hand” bookstores. The two gear shops, Bivouac and Kathmandu, were having their Christmas sales, so we began such camper-outfitting as was needed immediately. Both Vicki and I also purchased shirts, increasing the size of our wardrobes by a third. We also looked into devices for connecting the laptop to the internet while on the road and camping. They are expensive, and it is unclear they'd work elsewhere (e.g., the US and Europe), so we have decided to rely on free wifi, cyber-cafes and campground computers. Not as convenient, but at least affordable. Dinner was at Mezze, a middle-eastern sort of restaurant, where I began my personal assault on the NZ green lip mussel population. They are even larger, tenderer, tastier, on their home ground (as it were).
On our second full day, we took the ferry to Devonport, a touristy old town on an island in the harbor—it is a huge complicated harbor—and climbed Mt. Victoria, an old volcano remnant, a whole 90m high, for the view. Unfortunately, the view was mostly of the incoming squall. But Auckland has a beautiful skyline, especially from the water, with all the marinas and sails. It is called “The City of Sails.” From what we have read, 1 in every 4 Aucklanders owns a boat. Main street in Devonport had three 2nd-hand bookstores, and the pier had two. Lunch was pulled-pork bar-b-q in a joint owned by a Pennsylvania native.
We ferried back to Auckland and then took the bus to the Auckland Museum, a beautiful old structure set on a hill in the Domain overlooking the city. The Museum is known for its Maori and general Polynesian collections, and also its war memorial collections, including a Zero and an Spitfire (two aiircraft, I submit, that never met in war). The Maori stuff was incredible, in diversity and size and intricacy. The hundred-warrior canoe was especially impressive. Even more impressive was the tree from which it apparently was dug-out. Dinner was at a crepes place a block from the hotel. Auckland appears to have just about every conceivable cuisine.
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