City of Sails

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads." - Henry David Thoreau

Arriving in Auckland was both sad and wonderful. Sad because it was the last stop of of the journey, wonderful because that is what the city is. I'd been told that it evokes San Francisco, and can see why. It's a pretty city, with steep streets and a lively waterfront. It is different from SF as well--much more greenery and a slower pace.

Our arrival in Auckland also meant a departure from the cruise ship. The first order after to disembarking was to find some friends we had met on a cruise two years ago, who were boarding as we were leaving. Their hotel was on the wharf--literally--and so it wasn't hard to find them. We adjourned to their room to celebrate with champagne and some catching up.

We then sent them to the ship, and we checked into our hotel. We'd been amazed at the price we'd gotten at the Hyatt, and upon arriving found out why. On the map, the Hyatt is only a few blocks from most of the downtown sights. But in reality it actually is quite isolated, as it is at the top of a very steep hill, and there is no way to get to anything without going down at a steep angle. That tends to put a damper on one's enthusiasm for heading out for a quick anything.

Notwithstanding the descent (and corresponding ascent), the city beckoned. We started on a HoHo (hop on/hop off) bus, which circled two areas of the city and gave us a good overview: rose gardens, concert halls, parks, odd venues (an acquarium in an old sewer pipe), and views galore. Auckland is a clean, attractive city, with architecture from Victorian to modern, and an unusual dearth of architectural atrocities. There is a pretty shopping and cafe area called Parnell Village--very similar to The Rocks in Sydney. A highlight was Mt. Eden, from which one could see much of the city. From there, it is abundantly clear that Auckland is built on a volcano--you could see the series of volcanic cones. The most famous cone is One Tree Hill, so named for the lonely tree at its top. However, that tree no longer exists. Vandals cut it down, so it is now represented by an obilisk.

Our second day in Auckland was overcast, with rain threatening at any moment, so we spent much of the day in the Auckland Museum, which was well worth the time. It's a diverse museum, covering history and culture of the Maori and the people of the Pacific, as well as natural history and the designs and accomplishments of modern Kiwis. One favorite was a feature on Rudel Haywood, an early film director who made a number of silent movies and then developed his own sound camera to make "talkies" that were well ahead of their time.

Another favorite was a feature on volcanoes that brought home the fact that Auckland is built on a still-live volcano, making clear that the volcano will erupt again--be it tomorrow or 3,000 years from now. There was a room that simulated what would happen if it did erupt, a disturbing but fascinating feature.

Finally, we went to Sky City, the tower that dominates the Auckland skyline, which provides panoramic views of the city and its more distant environs and from which a person can bungy jump if s/he so wishes. We ate in the revolving restaurant near the top, and enjoyed the view with the meal. The overcast day actually enhanced the viewing, and we were able to see the city clearly, as well as the mountains in the distance and all in between.

However, the body hurtling past us as we ate was a little disconcerting. Yes, people were bungy jumping. You could see them go down in their harnesses, and then a minute later, could see the empty harness being raised. Which left the interesting question: what did they do with the "body"? We had seen bungy jumping in Queenstown: there you would either get towed back up (if you did it from the mountain) or get picked up by a raft (if you did it from the bridge). Here, we never could tell how the person was released. After our meal, we went up to another viewing platform that had a glass floor, and saw more jumpers. But, again, we couldn't see what happened to them.

But we could see no blood splatters on the pavement below. We could have asked, but decided to leave their fates a mystery.

After the fun of Auckland came the bad news: "E noho rā" which is the Maori for goodbye (the goodbye said by the one leaving). It was time to return home.

Next: The Longest Day