These pictures were taken in and around Auckland during the week
of April 18, 2005.
A
first view of downtown Auckland. Look, tall buildings! After several
months in Hamilton, which thinks it is a city but is sort of (and I mean
this in a nice way) not, it was so nice to have concrete and buildings
and three-story bookstores, where I spent two full days of my break :)
Another
view of downtown Auckland. That giant needle thing is part of Skycity, a
24-hour casino/entertainment complex/hotel/bus terminal.
The
main drag. If you squint, you can make out the street sign for Shortland
Street. New Zealand's one and only domestic (i.e. not Australian-made)
soap opera is called Shortland Street, so I figured it was worth a
picture.
One
of the reasons I had been excited to go to Auckland was to connect with
a slightly larger Jewish community there. There are three Jewish people
my age in Hamilton including me and two of them used to be married to
each other, so it is a very small pool indeed. This is the gate to the
Jewish area of a now-closed cemetery near downtown. It was apparently
Auckland's first cemetery, so I stopped at the historical plaque during
my walk downtown.
These
next few pics were taken inside the Auckland Domain, a large park near
downtown. It has a few theme gardens, a duck pond, walking trails etc.
Here
we are in one of the garden areas.
And
finally, what would a visit to the 'city of sails' be without a pic of
the water :) I tried to get to the prettier harbour but got lost, so I
only saw the one by the port area. Maybe next time :)
A
first view of downtown Auckland. Look, tall buildings! After several
months in Hamilton, which thinks it is a city but is sort of (and I mean
this in a nice way) not, it was so nice to have concrete and buildings
and three-story bookstores, where I spent two full days of my break :)
Another
view of downtown Auckland. That giant needle thing is part of Skycity, a
24-hour casino/entertainment complex/hotel/bus terminal.
The
main drag. If you squint, you can make out the street sign for Shortland
Street. New Zealand's one and only domestic (i.e. not Australian-made)
soap opera is called Shortland Street, so I figured it was worth a
picture.
One
of the reasons I had been excited to go to Auckland was to connect with
a slightly larger Jewish community there. There are three Jewish people
my age in Hamilton including me and two of them used to be married to
each other, so it is a very small pool indeed. This is the gate to the
Jewish area of a now-closed cemetery near downtown. It was apparently
Auckland's first cemetery, so I stopped at the historical plaque during
my walk downtown.
These
next few pics were taken inside the Auckland Domain, a large park near
downtown. It has a few theme gardens, a duck pond, walking trails etc.
Here
we are in one of the garden areas.
And
finally, what would a visit to the 'city of sails' be without a pic of
the water :) I tried to get to the prettier harbour but got lost, so I
only saw the one by the port area. Maybe next time :)