Auckland Hotels
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Mission to the Sky Tower
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Today it was back on the bus, well we've got to get our monies worth. This time our first 'hop off' right was exercised at Bastion Point and Mission Bay lookout. A great place to get a good view of the city, ever recognisable by the sight of the Sky Tower off in the distance. A short walk, though down a steep hill, brought us out at Mission Bay. A lovely little stretch of shops and cafe's on one side and the beach on the other. Though the beach itself was not very wide, it stretched quite far and a walk across the sand and paddle in the sea seemed required. After a nice relaxing Starbucks breakfast on one of the benches on the greenery separating the beach from the road, it was time to head up that hill (Charlie maintains it was steep, Sam disagrees) and continue on.
We next hopped off the bus at Parnell Village, one of the oldest suburbs. With many of its timber colonial buildings, as well as new builds, it really does bring the old and new together nicely. According to the tape-tour-guide, the shops are some of Bill Clinton's favourites as he has visited them the grand total of two times (it gave us a small chuckle- what if he had only visited them once?). Some of the side street shops reminded us slightly of the museum the day before, but here the small timber buildings were presented in a tranquil and modern setting and we were actually allowed inside.Though maybe that's not such a good idea, we barely managed to get away without succumbing to the urge to buy something hugely impractical and hugely expensive.
The afternoon was then spent in the Sky Tower, New Zealand's answer to the Empire State Building. It's taller than the Eiffel tower and the observation deck 186 m's up allow great views of the harbour and the city. OK, so it doesn't quite have the wow factor of the Empire State building, but the views are incredible. The slopping glass also makes you feel quite wobbly, though there is no danger of falling and the influx of people falling from the Sky Jump passed the window has to make it more adrenaline filled than any other tower.
We're off on our travels tomorrow, so it's goodbye to Auckland, hello to Rotorua. Watch this space.
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