Auckland and buildings

We walked around Auckland both on the day that we arrived and the next day. In the main it is a very modern city with a spattering of older (heritage) buildings.

The area near to Albert park has some buildings with a history and many were once University buildings. The design for this clock tower won awards in the 1920s

Inside the above

This old building is now a nursery. 

Old buildings are mixed in with new: here we have a brewery

The sky tower, an office block and St Patrick's cathedral with water feature.

 

Inside St Patrick's after a recent restoration. 

The cricket ground at "The Domain".

A memorial to the war dead of New Zealand in front of the cenotaph and museum.

The bandstand in the Domain.

The duck pond and cormorant.

The town hall and event area in front of the theatre. A rugby related event was in progress with stalls and a singer. Players were giving autographs to their fans.

The Kiwis are renowned for bungee jumping and this was evident even in the centre of Auckland. Right outside our hotel was a vacant lot with parking and a bungee jump. Well it was really more of a bungee catapult. Three people are strapped in a cage, the bungee is tensioned up and the cage propelled into the air before falling back partly in free fall and partly slowed by the bungee. There are three or four rebounds before the ride is over. You can tell when it is in action by the screaming. Even the Sky Tower has a jump see if you can spot superman in the photo below.

Bay of Islands back to Auckland

We returned to Auckland by plane from Kerikeri airport, which is about 25km from Paihia. We expected a small airport, but this Beachcraft had to be the smallest we have ever flown. 

The first indication of size was the Hertz rental car park - there are four bays.  Having handed over the keys, we went to check in. 

The photo above was taken from the cafe which had three seats and a table. All the food was home made by the person serving and, having tasted it, we believe her. We had been alerted of this by Sue at our B&B and so had a very lovely breakfast.

We were flying on a Beachcraft 1900 series - it takes 19 passengers and there were 14 of us travelling. 

There plenty of comments coming from behind about seat preference, window or aisle!

It was cloudy on our 40 minute flight until we got to Auckland where Pat had a good view of the runway 

Auckland has a population of 400,00, so not large, but spread out by its geography, essentially, it is on both sides of North Island. The major part of the town is on the Pacific side and that is where we headed.

Having installed ourselves, we went off the see the city from the sky tower.  The viewing platforms are on the 51st floor. 

There are glass panels in the floor for looking straight down

Pat isn't the only person who won't stand on them. Does 38mm sound stronger that 1.5 inches?

Our hotel in the foreground

The lift shaft

The entrance hall with a canoe like structure

After our visit, we went to find the Albert park, a small park in the centre of the city and next to the university.

In the evening, we went back to the sky tower for a look at the sunset, but it wasn't spectacular. 

The sky tower at dusk. We ate a super meal at the Depot restaurant just next door to the sky tower.

Puketi Forest and Paihia

When we arrived in New Zealand, Pat was coming down with flu, which cramped our style somewhat. We decided to go out to a forest to see the really large Kaori trees. We had seen the stump of a giant Kaori at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds  - the 800 year old trunk had been used to make the ceremonial canoe. Puketi is not the site of the largest trees, but it was one of the closer forests and it has reasonable length walks. 

John by a kauri tree.

Some views of the forest

Haruru falls was New Zealand's first river port and a route to inland  Maori settlements. 

Unknown (to us) wild flowers around Harura.

Hen and chicks in the car park by the falls.

Finally, for this area, something about Paihia itself. Some of the houses on our route from our apartment to the town to give a flavour to the area. 

 

Paihia was a nice little town and a great base from which to see the area.

Alliums are often make a sort of low hedge to a property.

Tiger lilies grow wild in the countryside

This iris type flower is just outside a house in Paihia 

The Cream Run

The cream run started in 1927 when a boat drove around the Bay of Islands, picking up milk and cream and delivering post and other items to the isolated farms on islands in the bay. Today, the cream run is a holiday attraction - a full day on the water, seeing the islands, going out to the Hole in the Rock (Piercy Island), swimming with dolphins and boom-netting.

Our trip started at 0930; the boat was quite full but not uncomfortably so. 

Our first stop was Russell, a town close to Paihia by sea, but not by car. Russell was once the port of the whaling fleet and had a poor reputation, but now is a popular and fashionable destination, particularly for its restaurants and bars. 

Having picked up more passengers at Russell, we continued out into the bay. 

The crew called a briefing for all those wanting to swim with the dolphins. We went down to listen as well; they described how to attract the Dolphins by squeaking (if you are female) or clicking and diving down into the water. Before the briefing had finished, dolphins had been spotted and so there was a rush for the water.

When we reached the site, swimmers were already in the water from another boat.  It was clear that there was a limit to how many people could be near the dolphins at once.  The captain of our boat was directing operations: looking out for where the dolphins were, turning the boat round for the spectators and telling swimmers where to head next.

You can see how close swimmers could get to the Dolphins

About 6 Dolphins gave us half an hour of magnificent entertainment making the trip really worthwhile. 

We cruised around the bay, passing many islands, both small and large. 

We stopped at Urupukapuka for an hour to eat lunch, walk up the hill or swim in the lagoon - John saw but one fish during his swim. 

We paused to observe a sun fish - to the inexperienced eye, they might be sharks.  In fact they feed on jelly fish and are inedible to any known species..

Then we continued on to the Cape Bret lighthouse which guards the entrance to the Bay of Islands. The lighthouse is no longer manned, but the keepers cottage remains available to hikers - a famous difficult walk passes by. 

P

The hole in the rock is a highlight of the tour. It certainly is a magnificent sight, but sadly we were unable to go though the hole because it was too rough.

On the way home, the boat stopped to give swimmers the chance to 'boom-net' - that is, to be pulled through the water in a net from the boat.

On the way hime, we rode with a solo dolphin, well known to the boats as  Jo 90.  She doesn't travel with a group and was thought to be male until she appeared with a calf!  We could hear her calling as she rode with us, diving from one side to the boat to the other. 

So, a great day out and well worth while. 

Waitangi Treaty Grounds

The Waitangi Treaty was signed by the British and Maori Chiefs in 1840.  It is the founding document of New Zealand as we know it today. 

The Treaty grounds, which are about 2km from the town, are large with lawns running down to the cliffs overlooking the Bay of Islands.  They include what is now called the Treaty House.  Originally it was the residence of the governor, James Busby and his family and is where the treaty was signed with about 40 Maori Chiefs. The treaty was then taken around New Zealand for other Chiefs to sign, there were 200 copies. The house fell into disrepair, but has been restored now and donated to the nation. The board of governors of the site are the descendants of those who signed the treaty. 

Also on the site is an elaborately carved Maori meeting house which was built in 1940 and opened on the 100th anniversary of the signing. A very large ceremonial war canoe (waka) completes the exhibits. This is launched annually on the anniversary of the signing and for noteable state visits. 

We had a very knowledgeable guide who is a descendent of one of those who signed. 

The meeting house where a 'cultural event' for visitors takes place 

The 'cultural event'

Wall decorations inside the meeting house, representing different Maori regions.

The Treaty House

Where the treaty was signed 

The remaining 3 vines from 1840 (they say)

The canoe is in three main sections plus side panels and is held together by cord and wooden pegs. When the Queen asked if it could be launched so that she could go for a ride they dismantled it in a couple of hours to move it.