March 7 - Around Auckland

Woke up to a beautiful day in Auckland.  Here's the view from my (admittedly small) window.  Not bad for the bucks we're paying.

Off and about the city for some looking around.  We hit the Auckland Domain first, tramping around the park grounds.  Beautifully kept grounds and walkways.  I can't remember what this was when it was built but it is a tropical greenhouse now, as evidenced by the plants inside.

One of the main downtown intersections in Auckland.  They solve the pedetrian problem by turning all the traffic lights red and letting pedestrians cross in whatever direction they want, including diagonally.

Albert Park, another downtown park near the university.  It was noon and all the students were
enjoying the day.

This is another candidate for the Ugly Fountain contest.  There was one in Sydney, Australia that I
remember from our trips there.  They even had entertainment in the park - some fellow in shorts and
a T-shirt playing the bagpipes.  Laura appreciated that more than I did.

We went up the Auckland Skytower for the view and a coffee.  It is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere (328 meters) and, of course there are great views in every direction.  Here's looking towards the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Here's looking straght down.  Enough to make your toes curl, eh?

And here is looking over the harbour in a more southerly direction.  Let me explain about the wire contraption you see in front.  It is part of the Sky Tower Jump.  You put on a flight suit and they
connect you to the centre cable.  They then drop you from the top of the tower guided by the two side cables.  There is a camera on the right hand cable to record your joy (terror?) as you drop.




What do you think?  Should we get Laura to try it out?  Leave us your vote on the blog.  Vote 'Yes' and vote often!