Aaaah....Great to be back in shorts and flip-flops

Auckland was like a ghost town when we arrived on a Saturday. Little or no-one on the streets considering that the population is bigger than Dublin. Everyone was out of the city for the weekend with the good weather apparently but wasn't too busy during the week either. We didn't mind at all after being through a load of jam packed North and South American cities.

"Minus 5" ice bar

When we were in an area called Ponsonby, with lots of nice cafes and bars, Niamh got a tip on the shoulder. Helen a friend of hers from school bumped into us by chance. We met up with Helen and her boyfriend, Enda, a few times after that which was good craic.

Waiheke island is only a half hour boat ride from the city. They throw in an hour long tour of the island for not much more than the ferry fare so we did that to get our bearings. Then headed for the beach. And visited another beach by accident when we got lost trying to find our way back to the ferry.

Albert Park

The highest building in the Southern hemisphere is the Skytower in Auckland. It dwarfs the skyscrapers around it and is bigger than the Eiffel tower. The view from the "sky deck" at the sixty somethinged floor is brilliant and thats just less than 2/3's the way up it. The rest above that is pretty much a massive aerial or anthena. They do a base jump by cable from 192m (that's about 650 feet for old folks), so I said I'd give it a shot. You put on what looks like an Elvis suit and get the elevator to the 65th floor and jump off a platform. You free fall for a number of seconds and just when you think you're going to splat a cable attached to your harness slows you down around 20 or 30 feet from the ground. It's kind of like a cross between a parachute jump and a bungee jump. I'd a grin on my face for about an hour after.

Albert Park 2

We saw some really nice parks etc. there too and did a spot of shopping.   

Galway Street

It's fairly high up

Looking like a flasher in the ice bar

My Feet on the glass floor of the Sky Tower

My Feet on Waiheke Island

On the way to Waiheke Island for the day

Out in the New Zealand Bush

Queens Street

The "Sky Jump", scary but over before you know it

The Sky Tower

The Sky Tower at night

Waiheke Island