Coast to Coast Walk - Auckland

December 15, 2014

Today we decided to do the coast to coast walk because the weather was pretty good.  It was cloudy, which was nice because it wasn't too hot for the walk.  We walked from the west coast of Auckland to the east coast of Auckland.  The walk was a ten mile walk, but we ended up walking much further because we got lost a few times and we did a few side trips along the way. These were the signs marking the way...

We set off at 9:30 a.m. and crossed quite a few streets while we were walking through downtown.  Jason took this picture of the crossing because he loved the fact that pedestrians could cross diagonally.

After leaving downtown, we walked up through a park that had these gorgeous trees.  We  just had to stop and climb them!

It was amazing to be walking through a residential neighborhood and suddenly see the Skytower in the distance.  

We walked past the University of Auckland business school and then up through Auckland Domain where there were several sculptures along the way.   I managed to get a picture of David and the kids walking through the park, it was just lovely.

There were also loads of these pohutukawa trees.   They are fondly referred to as Christmas Trees because their red blooms open up right around Christmas time.

Next we found ourselves walking up to the Auckland Museum and I was so happy because when we were there yesterday we didn't have time to visit the gardens, so we decided to take a little side trip.  We visited the Cool House where we took loads of pictures of all of the flowers in bloom.

Then we went into the hot house that felt like a sauna and had all of the tropical plants including the carnivorous ones.  After that we walked around the fern forest before continuing on our coast to coast walk.

Walking through the grounds of the Museum, which are fairly extensive, we got a bit lost as the signage for the walk leaves much to be desired.  However, after a few attempts and some very nice locals helping us out, we were soon back on the trail.

Our next stop was Mt. Eden, with an elevation of 643 ft.  We actually did not hike all the way to the top of this one.  W hiked most of the way, but as we came close to this on yesterday's bus tour, we found out that the buses can't go all the way to the summit.  Our bus driver pointed out that pointed out that there was a free shuttle for those wanting to ride to the top....so we took a short diversion off the coast-to-coast route to find the shuttle.  We are so glad we did, as not only did it save quite a hike up, but the driver was great. He talked about how this hill was where thousands of Maori lived on terraces that they built.  They stored food in huge craters at different points all the way up the hillside, so if they were attacked they could retreat up the hill and still have lots of food.  The driver also showed us how to reconnect with the coast-to-coast route on the way back from the top as apparently it was very poorly marked.  Riding to the top made the kids so very happy!

We took panoramic pictures of the views.  The crater in this picture is a volcanic crater.  There are lots of volcanic ash cones all around Auckland.

You can also see where we will be going next, One Tree Hill, which is the hill in the distance with the obelisk on top.  It looks so far away!  It was really windy on top, at times my braid was blowing completely sideways!

You can see how far we have walked already because we started at the shore beyond downtown and the Sky Tower.

On the way to One Tree Hill we walked across this cricket pitch.  It was so lovely, and it was straight up noon, so we decided to stop for lunch.  We had packed ham and swiss sandwiches, which just hit the spot!  A lovely little respite...

Then it was down hill through residential areas and on to One Tree Hill which is in Cornwall Park.  This is the entrance to the park...

Then there was a long climb up hill again.  It amazed me how many sheep there were right in the middle of the city...

Finally at the summit, it was really windy!  One Tree Hill: elevation 597 ft.  You can see the Sky Tower in the distance which really gives you a good idea of how far we have walked. I also started sneezing and my eyes began to itch.  You can see my left eye beginning to swell...  Allergies, ugh!

This was on our way out, people had made messages with the rocks among all of the sheep.

  

Next we went through Jellicoe Park which has a really nice stone entrance. You can see into the park and how lovely it is.  We can see why this is rates as one of the best city walks in the world!  Beautiful!

Then it was back down to sea level.  When we got to the end of the Coast to Coast walk we expected it to end at the bus or train station. However, it just ends at the water, and there is no "you are done" sign!   We had to walk into downtown Onehunga and ask where to go.  We finally found the bus station and luckily it was a short wait for a bus back into Auckland.  We were all so exhausted that it was nice to sit for the 40 minutes it took to get back to downtown.  All in all we figured we probably walked around 12 miles.

Once back, we relaxed a bit and then David and I went out for a coffee at this place we found down a side street in downtown Auckland.  It was in an unfinished area with cement and brick and exposed pipes and wiring called the Imperial Cafe.

Then it was off to the grocery store which is really close by the apartment.  We found this Montana wine, made in New Zealand, so we just had to get it! Dinner in the apartment tonight as everyone is really tired of walking.  

Rainy Bus Tour Day and Two Museums - Auckland

December 14, 2014 

8:30 a.m.

We went to bed about 8:30 p.m. last night, and didn't get up until 7:00 a.m. this morning, so we are definitely on Auckland time now.  It feels great!  Having showered and had breakfast, it is nice to just sit and relax and look out at the city.  We are on the sixth floor, so we have a decent view.  Danika is sitting on the sofa typing her blog.

The city is much older and dirtier than I remember, but it might just be because I am in a different part of the city, or because it was gorgeous with bright sunshine the last time I was here.  Today there is 100% chance of rain all day, so we will be taking a bus tour and possibly going to some museums.  It will be interesting to see what I think after we have been out and about a bit more.  Right now it is pouring down with rain and it feels very much like being in Seattle.  

6:00 p.m.

We decided to take the bus tour of Auckland and visit museums since it was raining all day.  We walked down to the Ferry Building and caught the bus right at 9:30 a.m.  We were five minutes early and David had just enough time to go and get tickets.  It was difficult to see things because it was raining so much and the bus windows were fogging up, but we had really nice conversations with the bus driver and we learned quite a few things along the way.  We had one of those bus passes where you could get off at a stop and stay as long as you want and catch the next bus. These pictures should give you a good idea of the weather!

The views were nice, too bad the weather was so rainy...  We went to the Rose Gardens where many weddings are scheduled this time of year.  We didn't stay to walk around though... too cold and wet!

The first place we got off was the Auckland Museum.  We spent two fabulous hours wandering its halls.  We learned about the Maori culture.

We were able to watch a master carver work on a large piece...

The large pieces are used in these Maori meeting houses called Wharenui...

 We also learned a lot about the history of New Zealand.  Danika particularly liked to see all of the displays of clothing.

They really liked walking through the old time towns as well...

There was a huge section on flora and fauna, and the best part was the shark!

In the earthquake and volcano section we went into a place where you sit down in a living room and look out the front veranda and watch the volcano erupt.  The earth shakes and the room moves, and then you see the water bubbling up and then it explodes and hot lava and ash come at you until the windows are covered.  It was really fun to do with the kids.

 However, my favorite part was the WOW, World of WearableArt.  It was amazing!  Here are just some of the clothes...

There were bras as well, and these two were great.  This one was made of hedgehogs!

This one cracked me up.  The artist's statement said. "Inspired by the death of my budgies - they are close to my bosom."

This was Danika's favorite...

We had a lovely lunch of panini sandwiches at the museum before hopping on the bus again.  This time we got off at the Museum of Transportation and Technology (MOTAT).  This is the one that Jason wanted to visit.  I thought we would stay there for about an hour, but two hours just flew by as there was so much to see and do.  The kids really enjoyed all of the interactive displays.  There was even an Earthquake Cafe and it had a little booth you could sit in and the whole booth shook like you were in the middle of an earthquake.  The kids had a laugh with the old time rotary phones and they couldn't believe that David and I grew up with them.  There was also this black out dome that only the kids could go into.  It was completely dark and they had to go through obstacles like climbing nets, going down slides, climbing ladders, etc.  They had a great time as we could hear them laughing in there while we waited outside.  We were so busy that we didn't even take any pictures!

We ventured outside when it stopped raining and there was a little town to walk through.  We stopped in an old schoolhouse and Danika said that she wished there was a camp she could go to where you had to live like in the olden days.

After that we hopped back on the bus and headed home.  We stopped at the store to get some more food and try to find a detailed city map of Auckland as the tourist information didn't have one.  We also found out that we need a transformer for our electrical needs.  We have adapters, but need to transform the voltage from local 240 volts to U.S. 110 volts... We still haven't been able to find a map or transformer anywhere so we came back to the apartment empty handed. We took another picture of the Skytower on the way back as it seemed more colorful today...

David is heading over to the conference, which is at the business school at the University of Auckland, about 12 minutes walk from our hotel, so we are just staying in and relaxing as we did quite a bit of walking today.  I am sitting here with the doors wide open letting in all the fresh air.  It is till raining and quite windy, but lovely nonetheless.  The bus driver today told us that it is highly unusual to have this sort of weather this time of year as it is usually hot and sunny.  That made me a little sad, but I have to say, we really had a marvelous day anyway!  The kids love having their own bedroom...

The kids and I are having leftover (from Raviz) indian curry for dinner, which makes me very happy, YUM!  This home restaurant has the best view - here is the night view from the balcony!

Heading Out to New Zealand

December 13, 2014 - 6:00 p.m.

Auckland, New Zealand

It is 11:00 p.m. on December 12th right now in Missoula, Montana!  We left Missoula the morning of the 11th and arrived in Auckland this afternoon, which is the 13th as we have crossed the international date line.  From house to hotel, we have traveled 34 hours straight. 

When we left Missoula, I took a pic of David and the kids at the airport.

Our flight was delayed a half an hour, but it wasn't a problem as we had a two hour layover in Denver, so we had plenty of time to grab lunch before catching our connection to Los Angeles. We had a really nice meal in Denver at a place called the Woody Creek Bakery and Cafe.  The food was really fresh and delicious!

Then it was on to LAX where we had a 4 1/2 hour layover.  We did quite a bit of walking to pass the time.  This is when I saw the biggest plane I have ever seen in my life.  It was a British Airways Airbus 380 with 469 passenger capacity.  It was double decker windows the entire length of the plane.  I love how the wings curve upward as well.

Later a Qantas Airbus 380 showed up, so I took a picture of it as well.  You can see the double decker windows the entire length of the plane.

Finally it was time to fly to Fiji, which was on our way to Auckland as we were flying Fiji Airways.  It was a 12 hour flight, which wasn't bad, except that I couldn't sleep.  I ended up getting really nauseous the last hour of the flight and could barely hold it together when I got off the plane.  I had a splitting headache and upset stomach... I could barely function.  David went and bought me a Sprite and Danika gave me some crackers to settle my stomach.  Then Kiyomi Looney (Clay was also going to Auckland for the same Information Systems conference as David) gave me some ibuprofen for my headache.  I think it must have been due to lack of sleep. 

Three hours into our four hour layover, I finally started to feel better.  David and I had a cappuccino and latte, and they were incredibly good.  I love the locally roasted coffee!   The weather in Fiji was perfect, and the scenery beautiful.  If we had been thinking ahead, we would have stopped for a few days on our way back.  I snagged a picture of our aircraft before we left for the leg to Auckland.

Once we arrived in Auckland it was like someone was watching over us because everything went so smoothly.  We were ushered through passport control, then our bags were first off the carousel, and then we had the nicest guy at customs.  It was only 20 minutes from when the doors of the plane opened until we were in the taxi heading to our hotel.  We made it to our hotel by 2:00 p.m. having been wheels-on-the-tarmac a little after 1:00 p.m.

I have to say, it really isn't a hotel though.  We are staying at the Waldorf Stadium Apartments in downtown Auckland.  It is a darling little two bedroom apartment with kitchen and balcony.    When we arrived we were so happy to just settle in for a bit and enjoy our surroundings.  Here is a picture from the balcony...

After a bit we took the kids over to the swimming pool and let them play around.  It is a really long pool with two lanes.  One lane is shallow, while the other is deep. You can kind of see that in the picture on the right side where the kids are standing it is shallow and on the left it is deep.  You can really tell how long it is by looking toward the back where I am standing, quite a long way away.  The kids had a great time burning off some pent up energy while David and I went grocery shopping to get breakfast and lunch items for our little apartment. 

After unloading the groceries and the kids having changed clothes, we went for a walk around downtown. Snapped a picture of the Skytower as we were walking.

We wanted to go to the iSite which is the Tourist Information Center here, which is right near the base of the tower.  We picked up  a bunch of brochures on things to do in Auckland so we could look over them while we ate dinner.

Then we headed to Raviz, a local Indian food restaurant.  The food was amazing!  So good!  The naans were probably the freshest I have ever had.  The Chicken Tikka Marsala and the Chicken Korma were seasoned to perfection.  Danika had this incredible salad of onions, cabbage, cucumbers, and carrots in a light vinaigrette.  Yummy.

So, we were completely stuffed as we took the long walk back to our apartment.  It was raining, so I was a bit cold.  Luckily I had some fresh naan breads that we ordered to go.  The package was so hot because they had just come out of the oven.  I just held it against me to keep me warm!

Finally back at the apartment and we are all exhausted from walking the city and lack of sleep over the last 40 hours.  I think it shall be an early night tonight!