Reacquainting with Auckland

With my friend in Auckland, I spent ample time showing her my favorite spots. As I’ve said before, I really enjoyed the Coast to Coast Walkway, a walk from the east coast of New Zealand, starting in Downtown Auckland at the Viaduct Harbour to the west coast, out in Onehunga. We set out on a drizzly day by starting at a cafe for some energy on our journey. We decided to take a bus and train to Onehunga, but the bus never showed! The next bus took us into town and we tried to make the train, but it rolled away as we approached. A quick change of plans, we started where we intended to finish.

The walk starts out with a lovely stroll through town on this day where the sun kept threatening to make an appearance. A couple of views reminded me of how very far from home I am, with the random palm tree jutting out among the cityscape and hanging out on the hillsides as well as the unique, albeit short, history.

 

My friend, strange as she was, didn’t quite believe me about the intensity of the walk or that we’d pass several volcanic craters. After about a quarter of the walk, I lamented that I’d sent her all this information, but she hadn’t had the time to review it. A dapper young lad passing with headphones quickly interjected that a friend should always click on the links another friend sends. A very sudden interjection, we were both quite taken aback. But of course it was nice to have someone on my side 😉 Even if he was just a random fellow passing by.

Last time I’d done the walk, I’d commented on the quaintness of New Zealand houses. This time, I remembered to snap a couple of photos. There are these small, cute houses, as well as these larger properties. Ages ago, the houses had much more land. Over time, they sold portions of their land and so the properties these days tend to be three houses one behind the other. It’s rather interesting, and different than I’ve seen before.

We spent one evening in Mission Bay, eating an excessive amount of Mexican food. We decided to get an entree (read: appetizer in NZ) of nachos, that was so huge we needn’t have eaten our mains (read: entree in NZ). So much food. We had earlier agreed on frozen yogurt for dessert but we had to do a couple of laps around the beach before we could squeeze any in. Yum.

And of course, since my life revolves around food, we spent our last night at Elliot Stables. We were each able to pick our restaurant and enjoy our food together in the cafeteria style seating. A great ambiance with all sorts of people, foods and bustling waiters .

Let’s see, what else? A bit of traipsing here and there, and while I absolutely stole this photo from my friend, I leave you with the shark bus.