Auckland, North Island
When I eventually awoke, after my late arrival in the early hours, I was keen to explore Auckland. Going out, I noticed a freshness in the air that I'd seldom experienced since crossing the Pacific. Looking upwards, the first thing I saw was the Sky Tower. This seemed a good way to see the city.
The Sky Tower is a telecommunications and observation tower (and in that regard reminded me of the BT Tower in London). Built in 1997, the Sky Tower was the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere until 2022. It is the 28th tallest tower in the world, somewhere between the Eiffel Tower and Empire State Building. At 328 meters tall, it's 144 meters taller than the Seattle Space Needle (but also 35 years younger).
So we've established the Sky Tower is tall. It provides an amazing view of the city, and I really enjoyed my time there, however, the height clearly made many uncomfortable. One family were walking about like penguins, and the mum dramatically told the dad "You can stay up here if you like, but we are getting down". Another girl was lying against the wall by the lift looking like she was going to be sick.
They certainly wouldn't be doing the Sky Jump (which the tower offered), although nor would I for that matter! Others were dodging the glass walkway, which while 38mm thick, may as well have been a thin window pane as far as they were concerned. I get it though, it somehow feels unnatural being up that high.
The Sky Tower is located above Skycity Auckland, an entertainment complex with a casino and swanky hotel. In this unlikely location, I noticed a rugby museum. It was about New Zealand's famous national team the 'All Blacks'. New Zealand has played Scotland 32 times since 1905. Only on two occasions did New Zealand not win, and those were draws. They have won three World Cups, and 499 of their 651 test matches. This is just as well, because in New Zealand rugby is a national obsession.
The museum tour provided an insight into what it means to be an All Blacks player. Despite an impressive record, the All Blacks are still very superstitious, and carry a Jem stone with them for luck when they play. I was expecting to see the trophy cabinet, and hear stories of matches won and great players. In addition, though, the tour also included games to test our mental agility and show how fast the reactions of a professional rugby player need to be.
The most unique part of the tour started in a replica of the changing rooms from the national stadium at Eden Park. We were then led out to a mock-up of a stadium with a virtual reality video of the New Zealand team performing the haka. For those that don't know this is a traditional Maori war dance performed before the start of every All Blacks match. It is to get them psyched up for the match and intimidate the opposition. Having seen the haka at matches as a spectator, it was interesting to see it from the point of view of a player.
After the excitement of the morning, it was time to get back down to earth (and outside) by visiting Auckland's harbour. Auckland Harbour is nice, but it was hard not to compare it to Sydney's, having only been in Sydney a day earlier.
Auckland's waterfront is never going to be able to compete with Circular Quay (in Sydney), and their Harbour bridge is pretty unremarkable compared to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. On the other hand, it wasn't as busy with tourists, and watching the yachts and boats sailing was quite peaceful.
That peace was shattered though when I crossed a pedestrian bridge. I suddenly heard a siren and an official telling me to get off the bridge. Minutes after I got to the other side, the bridge split in half and each side was raised to allow a yacht to pass under it.
After exploring the city, I concluded Auckland felt like bits from various other cities: the harbour from Sydney; the modern skyscrapers and tower from somewhere like Toronto; and a bridge that opens for large ships to come through like Tower Bridge in London. It was perfectly nice, but I was expecting a bit more character from Wellington. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I had another day in Auckland, and as a short 'fellow' once said, "I'm going on an adventure"!
