Auckland is a large city, in population and area. Walking seems to be a popular thing in New Zealand, and there is something called the Coast-to-Coast Walkway that starts in Auckland and goes, apparently, to another coast. This seemed like as good a route as any to see a little of the city.
Before starting on the official route, we decide to ramble to the west a bit to check out an interesting pedestrian bridge and to see the trendy, renewed Wynyard Quarter. We passed a yacht harbor and arrived at the pedestrian bridge (it was a drawbridge) just as the warning bell started to ring. It was quite interesting to watch a group of tourists continue past the gate despite the bell, walk over to the side of the bridge to stand for a few minutes and admire the view, and then slowly continue their oblivious way across the bridge. They eventually realized what was about to happen, but it took a while.
After the realization:
On the other side of the bridge we found cafes, a park, a fish market, and an events center. It was a pleasant area and the weather was awfully nice.
The side of an interesting building:
Then we headed back the way we came to embark on the Coast-to-Coast Walkway. I have to say, it really wasn't all that interesting a walk. We had a map, which is a good thing because the trail was not marked in any way. There were no interpretive signs and there was no commentary to go with the map, so we don't know if we passed anything interesting. We decided to go as far as the museum, which was in a big park, and then loop back. Alas, our map was not a topo map.
We passed a shopping center before we turned inland to climb a long steep hill. This shopping center wants people to remember to buy shoes:
We decided not to continue to the museum. It was hot, and it was still uphill, and the Coast-to-Coast Walkway was disappointing. We found our way to Queen Street, one of the main streets in the CBD and headed down to the port.
A nameless gnome:
There was very heavy pedestrian traffic in this area. That is always interesting when you are used to a low-density city. You never know where to walk, especially in a country where they drive on the opposite side. Do you move to the left or to the right when someone is coming towards you? I tried to figure this out by noting which way the approaching people moved, but it seemed to be about 50/50.
I did like the Kiwi method for crossing at intersections. All vehicle traffic would get a red light and pedestrians on all 4 corners would get a walk signal. If you wanted to go kitty-corner, you could. It was practical - you don't have to wait for two lights to get across. It also seems safer than having to cross when cars may be turning.
In addition to pedestrians, Queen Street was jam-packed with every kind of ethnic food and fast food you can think of, and all of the name brands you could ever imagine.
The Back-Story
How did we end up doing this walk?
I almost always plan everything very carefully before a trip. I research the local attractions, when they are open, their popularity ratings, and how to get to them. When we lost two days of our time in New Zealand, I had to improvise. We stayed in Rotorua a little later than I had planned and went to Waitomo on our way back to Auckland. Thus, we arrived in Auckland half a day later than planned and I had no chance to visit the tourist information center or revise our plans.
The following is what can happen when you arrive somewhere without a specific plan and schedule.
We woke up at the Hilton on Princes Wharf. Our ship was just across from us on Queens Wharf. It was so nice to have a lazy morning. No schedule, no rushing around. Our only deadline was to board the ship by 5 pm. We would have to go back to the hotel to pick up our bags and get a cab to the ship, so we really wanted to get back to the hotel no later than 3 pm to allow for any unforeseen issues. We were told it could be very hard to get a cab at the hotel.
After a leisurely breakfast we returned to our room, finished packing, and brought our bags down to the bellman to be held until we came back in the afternoon.
We had a Great Idea for our time in Auckland. We would walk down to the end of the wharf and catch the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. Arriving at the HOHO office at 10:32 or so, we found that we had just missed the 10:30 bus. The next bus came at 11, so we decided to wait for it.
There were two ships in port that day and a lot of tourists were milling around the HOHO office.We asked the young lady at the ticket office if there were a lot of people already waiting for the 11:00 bus and she said yes. We asked her if the reasonably priced one-hour pass would allow us to see both loops and she said no, but the expensive all-day pass would (not her exact words). The HOHO is a double-decker bus, so we asked her if you could see much from the lower level. She made a face which we took to mean "No, not really."
The HOHO route followed two routes. They looked like a figure 8, with one red circle and one blue circle. The ideal way to see the city was to take the red route to the museum, get off, wait for the blue route bus, take the complete loop back to the museum, get off, wait for the red loop bus, and then continue back to the wharf. The buses run every 30 minutes. If one comes along and is full, you have to wait for the next one. Another Great Idea bites the dust.
There were all kinds of ferries and tour boats and they looked nice so we stopped at a few of the booths to find out more.
The Ferry Terminal:
ALL of the boat tours had just left at 10:30 and had another tour leaving at 1:30. The tours were 2 1/2 to 3 hours. This did not satisfy our comfort level for getting back in time, so we abandoned that idea.
Yeah. Our timing was pretty awkward. This is why I plan.
Sailaway
Embarkation went smoothly. It always feels like coming home when we board at the beginning of a new cruise. Auckland has a nice modern skyline.
The wormy thing is part of the ferry terminal.
You can bungee jump off of that tall tower on the right. Really, as in really, they let you, and really, people pay to do it.
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