Wednesday, October 13, 2010

My, Auckland, but you have a lot of places to walk

My first real day hoofin it around Auckland. I started by trying to catch the bus into town, but the bus didn't stop at the stops near Epsom Girls Grammer School (which is near me), so I kept walking. I walked under the South Motorway, which is having some construction done on it. When we passed by this thingamarig last night, Terry called it some 'mechano', which of course made me think of some mad villian who uses construction equipment in his (or her) nefarious schemes.















I made it to Auckland domain. A domain is where a volcano crater has been turned into beautiful parkland. Auckland domain is one of, if not the largest. It has some cricket pitches, however they are supposed to work, and it is also home to the Auckland War Memorial Museum:
















The grounds continue for quite a ways, with tended gardens and ponds. To give a sense of placement, you can get pretty lost in the parts with trees and not really see the city if you don't want to.















At the top of one of the hills in the domain was this fenced in tree. There was no explanation, just a fence carved with Maori imagery, and then a cruder fence outside of that. It felt very strange and special around this tree.















More walking walking walking, I made it to Albert Park, which is right across the street from the LIBRARY! and Auckland University. Many many people out and lounging, riding skateboards, rolling huge balls made of toilet paper (not lying) and playing sports. Directly across from me, in the very center of this picture, are a young woman and man sitting on a bench. The man was reading a book and the woman inched closer and closer trying to look at the cover, but really trying to get his attention. It was a very sweet exchange moment.















So the guys playing rugby also caught my eye. Stiller fans are worldwide!















Finally caught a bus back to Mt. Eden domain near where I'm staying. I walked up to the top again for a rest and was rewarded with this here. Rangitoto island looks so inviting out there in the bay.

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