23-DEC-2006
Auckland served as our four week post Japan and China recovery stop along with a place to spend the holidays and accomplish some tasks. The city is very spread out and includes several islands. Billed as the “city of sails”, one is never far from water. This made it a great place to do daytrips and a lot of coastal walks. We even saw a performance of Cirque du Soleil.
This photo sums up the lifestyle that many people appear to enjoy. The island in the background is a dormant volcano, one of several in the area.
24-DEC-2006
There are ferries to many of the islands. This photo shows lava rock on Rangitoto, the island in the previous photo.
04-JAN-2007
Karakare Beach on the Tasman Sea where scenes from the “The Piano” were shot.
20-DEC-2006
This photo of a pohutukawa tree was taken on one of the volcanic hills in the village suburb of Devonport, our base in the Auckland area.
20-DEC-2006
A view of downtown Auckland from Devonport. Frequent ferries go to the city centre in about 10 minutes. Auckland, at just over a million people, accounts for over ¼ of the New Zealand population
30-DEC-2006
Although still very English overall, Auckland has populations of Polynesians and Asians (particularly Koreans) along with other minorities. This photo was taken ar the Otara Market, billed as the largest Polynesian market in the world.
04-JAN-2007
Perhaps not obvious at first glance, this photo was taken from a cliff high above a beach.
29-DEC-2006
This scene was captured on Waiheke, an island of beautiful beaches and vineyards reached by fast ferry.
04-JAN-2007
An example of the many beautiful shorelines in greater Auckland.