Tired from our night with the Rebels, but not wanting to waste our visit to Auckland, we decided to jump on the Auckland Explorer Bus and see 9 attractions without having to walk to them! We got on the bus at Sky City and headed to the Americas Cup Viaduct Harbour. New Zealand has a long history of involvement with the America's Cup Yachting regatta and was only the 2nd country in 100 years to win it from America. Auckland first hosted it in the year 2000 when they defended the cup but lost it in 2003 to the Swiss challenger Alinghi.
Next stop, the Ferry Building, which is the centrepiece of the harbour in Auckland. Built in 1912, it still serves as an active ferry terminal with ferries departing to Devonport and various Hauraki Gulf islands on a regular basis. The building itself is made of sandstone and brick.
Next was Bastion Point Lookout, with views out over the Hauraki Gulf and Waitemata Harbour. We decided to get off the bus here to see the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Gardens, dedicated to the Labour Party legend and prime minister of the 1930’s.
From here we walked down to Mission Bay beach, which was beautiful.
We stopped for some lunch and then walked around Tamaki Drive on the waterfront, with great views back to the city, and picked up the bus again at Kelly Tarltons Underwater world.
The bus then took us through Parnell Rose Gardens, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland Museum, Parnell Village, and the Civic Theatre Corner where the Movie King Kong was filmed, and finally back to Sky City - at 328 metres it's the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand.
After a wander around the harbour and shops, we then headed back to the hotel before having dinner at Sky City in the evening.
Easter Sunday was our last day in Auckland, so we decided to brave the Sky Tower. First we went to the main observation level at 186 metres. The lift to this point was scary enough, with a glass bottom and walls so that you can see just how high you are!!! I never like heights, but even Darren found the lift a bit freaky! The views though were awesome - you can see up to 52 miles in each direction.
The glass floors and small viewing areas though made us feel a bit funny! Although some people are crazy enough to jump off it! I think this picture captures the point where someone realized it was not a good idea!
We also had the option to go up to the Sky Deck at 220 metres. Darren felt that he had been high enough at this point so I braved it on my own!
We both agreed that it was a good thing to do, but if you don't like heights it's something you'd only do once!
And all too soon it was time to get back on the plane and head back to Australia! Another time I think it would be nice to see more of New Zealand, but it was a great trip - and because of the long weekend we still had two more days off work to enjoy when we got back!
No comments:
Post a Comment