Tramping the coast
Trip Start
Dec 29, 2007
1
26
42
Trip End
Ongoing
Auckland,
New Zealand
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Upon entering the kitchen one night to get some food I saw our landlord cooking & to avoid an awkward silence I made small talk 'Hey Barry...how was your day...have you been home long?'. I was informed my comments were offensive & were deemed to be prying into his life. Naturally speechless I tried listing the permutations in my head which my query may have resembled, 'Do you like little boys?' ... no ... 'Voulez vous couchez avec moi?' ... no ... Hmmm. Unable to think of what he may have have misinterpreted, I asked what he found offensive which was followed by a long haunting silence before he mumbled 'I feel very embarassed, I can't remember'...RIIIIGHT
D crater
. The following morning I got a sorry from him so I put it down to a bad day. However 4 more schizo outbursts from self confessed alco Barry followed by his token next morning apology & we decided it was time to get the flock out of there. A barrage of texts & emails to prospective new locations on trademe brought fortune the following evening in the form of a 7 bedroom house in mid renovation situated in Grey Lynn, much closer to the CBD so we said deal but couldn't move in for over a week besides which we still had a weeks rent paid in advance in the current spot.After deciding on a trail, we decided to hillwalk or tramp (kiwi term) from the north coast in the CBD to the south coast of Manukau bisecting the isthmus. It's highlighted by 2 sights. The 1st is Maungawhai in the burb of Mt Eden; a dormant volcanic site with a monstrous sized crater now covered in grass & grazed on by a herd of cattle. We had an eagle eyed view of Eden Park Rugby field from the top & the surrounding skyline where you see the extent of urban sprawl in Auckland. On the horizon you can see the 2nd spot worthy of mention Maungakiekie in One Tree Hill but we made our way there for a closer look. This features a spire at the summit of another volcanic site overlooking Manukau harbour in the huge Cornwell Park donated by John Logan Campbell to Aucklanders. It's surrounded by sheep, extremely hilly providing superb views & very popular with tourists. Luckily we got to see sundown over the harbour which was pretty sweet just as we reached the summit.
Another day of tramping brought us to Mission Bay which I suppose translates to the Dawkey of Ireland
V monument on One tree Hill
. Average house prices were over a million euros but the view from each pad was 2nd to none. The coastal drive is full of cyclists all kitted out & training in teams while the sea-line is a collage of yachts. It's peppered with little beaches, St. Heliers Bay being the best although Ladies beach deserves a special mention. As we were busy taking snaps walking along the shore a few old heads darted out from behind bushes near the cliff-face. They had sun hats on ... but nothing else so at the risk of retinal damage we turned on a 6 pence & headed for the hills. Recreational parks are plentiful with a big emphasis over here on trying to bind communities together. After passing numerous parks we checked out the Tahuna Torea reserve. It's a swamp area that leads onto a long shell covered strand before curving away into a sandbar. Nz is reputedly eco friendly & true to that rep, their natural reserves are well maintained with trails going through all types of terrain crossing varied wildlife. It makes you appreciate why so many kiwis want to move away from Auckland into the countryside. The directions on maps can be misleading but when you are in the middle of it you don't care, it's really peaceful & relaxing but draining when attacking the climbs.
To celebrate our 1 year mark we made our way to the Orbit revolving restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower, ka-ching! Naturally any spot in such a location isn't budget but to be fair for what we got, it was very reasonable
DV Mission bay
. Portions were huge & it wasn't arty farty. The view from the top is sensational & being only 6m taller than the Eiffel Tower gives panoramic displays of the harbour, motorways & neighbouring skyscrapers. The tower also contains bars, casinos & hosts live music.We also made the time to tramp the Manukau harbour coastline which is just as sweet as the others crossing all the flora & fauna you can imagine. The plantation is labelled en route with a little info on it for those not in the know. The forest areas reminded me of being back in Iguazu in the Amazon but lacked the humididty. The reality is we have the same sort of terrain back in the motherland but it's laid out better here making it more tourist friendly. With a few long weekends coming our way, we will aim to make it beyond the metropolis of Auckland so roll on sunshine & snow for some off piste antics!
