We woke up at about 6am and went for a run in a park called The Domain, mere blocks from our hotel in Parnell (a neighbourhood of Auckland). The park is not unlike Stanley Park in Vancouver - I've been trying to figure out what city I would compare Auckland to, but I haven't come up any. Being a port city, it's a lot like Vancouver, but still different enough for me not to make that comparison. But the Domain did remind me of Stanley Park, with a museum and a cricket pitch (or several) accompanying rose gardens, and duck ponds and various other minor attractions all surrounded by a forested area with trees filled with cicadas chirping and whining in a cacophonous chorus. It all contributed to a pretty place to run.
After breakfast, we took the Link bus (a frequent shuttle bus that runs in a circuit into and out of the city centre) into downtown Auckland and did some browsing through the shops in a place called The Victoria Park Market, a indoor collection of small shops and stores (similar to Granville Market, once again a Vancouver comparison).
Just prior to lunch, we embarked on a quest to find a cell phone store that would be able to unlock my cell phone so we could use it with a prepaid SIM card we bought - however, yesterday was a holiday here, so no Techs seemed to be available anywhere to do the deed.
We wandered up to the rental car company, which was conveniently located a few long blocks from where we gave up our cell phone Tech quest and picked up our car - a very roomy Nissan Bluebird - don't let the name fool you, it seems like a really good car. After managing to drive on the correct side of the road, we made it back to the hotel for a short lunch before heading out to catch the ferry to Devonport.
Devonport was very nice burrow of Auckland on the far side of Auckland Harbour, with pretty little beaches and a "boardwalk" along the shore-side. The sea breeze made the hot sunny day more pleasant, though I was so tempted to go for a swim!
Alas, I have no Tigger Pictures today because in an attempt to be pro-active, I took my battery out last night to charge it up and then forgot to put it back in the camera - oh well, others took a short or two and maybe in a day or so I will post another Tigger post.
Tomorrow two of us are going diving!! My cold seems to have cleared up so with any luck we'll have a great time! It'll be an early start tomorrow - on the road by 0530 - but well worth the lack of sleep!!
I'm ending yet another fabulous day, the way I ended yesterday, sitting in Esquires Coffee Shop on Parnell Road, sipping warm milk at 9PM and realizing it's 1AM with you back home! Thus ends my rather mundane reporting of today's events.
No comments:
Post a Comment