Auckland on Our Own

January 25, 2013 in port Auckland, New Zealand – Hunting the Great Auk

When J went out for his usual 6:45am walk on deck, Silver Whisper was in the process of docking at the Queen’s Wharf in Auckland Harbor.  The ship docked so close to the Central Business District (known quaintly as the CBD) and downtown areas of Auckland that from deck, you seemed to be parked in the city’s center.

View of Auckland from Silver Whisper’s Observation Deck

It was as if you had parked your car to go shopping.

After breakfast, we went ashore and walked to the base of the pier; out through the entrance of the old ferry terminal; and onto Quay Street.  Because of the close proximity of the ship to the major urban attractions, we decided not to take a tour but to explorer on foot on our own.  The area around Auckland harbor was redeveloped for the America’s Cup in 2003 to include facilities for racing yachts and associated activities.  Along Quay Street, paralleling the harbor, this has created an architectural mix of Victorian, Edwardian, and modern, which is rather pleasing in an eclectic way.

 

Auckland Harbor -- Ferry Building, Ferry Piers with Silver Whisper in Background

The Silver Whisper’s bow is lost in mist -- luckily not in rain.

Quay Street Artifacts

The Edwardian street lights, modern statue (Yard Art), and Oriental-style gate, just scream eclectic.

Among all of this street art was a small obelisk commemorating the New Zealand War Dead of WWI who worked for the ferry company prior to the Great War.  The obelisk seemed strangely out of place in this modern concrete jungle.

Obelisk Honoring WWI War Dead

In every town and city in New Zealand, you will find monuments to the war dead of WWI and WWII.

Heading to the small boat harbor, we saw sailing and motor yachts of every type, including Americas Cup yachts, ocean-going, private-motor yachts, and small sail boats.  It is said that Auckland, with its population of 1.1 million, has more pleasure craft per capita than any other city in the world.  Whatever the truth of that statement, there were a great number in the Auckland harbor.

Boats in Auckland Harbor

A small sampling of sailing and motor yachts, plus one ferry.  Note:  America’s Cup catamaran, “Prada.”

It soon became apparent that it would be very difficult to get lost in Auckland, because no matter where you are in the city, all you have to do is look up and you can see the Sky Tower to orient yourself.  The Sky Tower (built in 1996 as part of a casino and hotel complex) is a 1,082-foot TV, cell phone, and advertisement tower that looms over everything else in central Auckland.  In what is essentially a low-rise city, it is not very attractive, unless you are a bungee jumper or free diver.  There is a saying in Auckland that your property’s value increases immediately if you do not have a view of the Sky Tower.

Auckland Sky Tower from the Streets

No matter where you are, the Sky Tower is always with you – sadly.

We continued our walk into the Downtown and CBD districts of the city.  They are filled with well-preserved, late 18^th and early 20^th Century commercial buildings that give the districts a look of permanence that many cities with only modern commercial buildings lack.

Preserved Early Buildings in Auckland

There is a lot to be said for diversity in the urban landscape.

An excellent example is the old Customs Building, which was converted to a shopping mall known locally as an “arcade.”  It  is now the home of a number of high-end retailers, such as Louie Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, etc., etc., etc.-- all under the banner of DFS Galleria, a Hawaiian-based retailer committed to spreading needless mark ups worldwide.

The Old Customs House

The building is now the home of DFS Galleria boutiques, where the mentally-challenged, affluent shop.

Our final stop was St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of Auckland.  The Cathedral has been recently restored.  Its location within a hill-top park provided an excellent counterpoint to the urbanized  surrounds.  So, this was a good place for a little rest before we began our trek back to the Queen’s Wharf.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

God’s retreat in the heart of Manon.

It was a sunny day -- one of the few we had since leaving LA.  Luckily, walking back to the ship was downhill, alongside buildings that provided shade on at least one side of the street.  On our way back, we met Hotel Director Norm, who immediately took our picture.  (Norm’s hobby is taking pictures, so we humor him.)  However, in retaliation, J took Norm’s picture.  Both are included as part of the quid pro quo of images.

J and E Street-Walking in Auckland

Photo by Norm Rafelson, paparazzi of the Silver Whisper

Norm on the HUNT!

J took this in retaliation.

Returning to the ship, we lunched, napped, and read until about 4:00pm, when the fuel barge (tied up  alongside Silver Whisper to fuel since morning) departed.  We had not fueled since Papette.  And, the car carrier, M/V Eternal Ace, got underway from the pier next to us.  M/V Eternal Ace is a Ro-Ro (Roll on, Roll off) car carrier.  Its descrption from the web is included below.  Needless to say, it dwarfs Siiver Whisper and may be one of the most unusual hulls at sea.  Watching it get underway and leave port was an event worth recording.

Current Data on Eternal Ace from Google

Looks like a very large floating box.

Eternal Ace Leaves Port

It is a lot like herding an elephant with a fly swatter.

In the early evening, we had a performance by Maori dancers, which was (except for the Hakka war dance) a lot like hula. (No surprise there.)  Regretfully J, as is his wont, forgot to take the camera.  About 7:00pm, we sailed for Wellington, New Zealand, our next port-of-call.

Note:  J discovered that the Great Auk (a bird) had nothing to do with Auckland, which was named for Lord Auckland, a functionary in Her Majesty’s government at the time of Auckland’s founding in the 1840s.  He refused to change the title of this section to “Hunting Lord Auckland;” it seemed inappropriate.

January 26, 2013 en route Wellington, New Zealand – Nothing of Consequence to Report.

A typical sea day with the usual activities:  Looking for sea creatures, but none seemed interested in us  (maybe we sounded like a Japanese whaling ship).  There were only the sea, sky, and sun.  Sun was kind of novel.

Sunset off New Zealand

Only the sun, sea and sky to be seen.