Arrival hall of Auckland International Airport with a native Maori design.
First morning in Auckland - beautiful blue sky and white clouds, seen from hotel room.
St. Pauls church
Dwali Festival of Lights at Britomart market. An Indian lady doing Henna Tattooing for a tourist.
Roti Prata (Indian friend pancake)!
Ferry Building at the waterfront area. This building is the focal point for commuter ferries to places like Devonport, Waiheke Island etc.
Harbourside Restaurant, a popular seafood restaurant with stunning views of the harbour is located in this building. We had our lunch there on our first day and the food was superb!
Britomart Transport Centre @ Queen Street. This Centre brings together Auckland's train, bus and ferry services in a single complex.
Old Custom House. This 1889 French Renaissance-style building is now home of Duty Free Shoppers (DFS), Auckland's largest duty-free shop.
Queen Street - commercial centre and shopping street of Auckland.
Queen Street.
Civic Theatre at the junction of Queen Street and Wellesley Street. It was first opened in 1929 as a picture theatre for the people of Auckland. It underwent a $42m restoration in 2000. It is part of THE EDGE, hub of performing arts and entertainment in NZ which also compromises of ...
...Aotea Centre which was built at the cost of $128.5m and is the largest performing arts centre of its kind in NZ, ....
....Auckland Town Hall which was built in 1911 and underwent a S$33m restoration in 1997....
and lastly, the Aotea Square, the largest open-air space in the inner city of Auckland. This Square hosts the Aotea Square markets (as seen on this picture) every Friday and Saturday, rain or shine.
A large fern deco hanging from the ceiling of the BNZ Foyer in Aotea Centre.
A Paua Shell, another art display in Aotea Centre.
Auckland Sky Tower which was opened in August 1997. At 328-m, this tower is a splendid tourist, broadcasting and telecommunications facility, and has taken over from Sydney's AMP Tower as the tallest building in the southern hemisphere.
Part of SKYCITY (New Zealand's biggest Casino), Sky Tower is visited by almost a million people a year. It has four observatory levels.
Views from Sky Tower ......
Auckland Harbour Bridge which was built in 1959. Look at the yachts parked at Westhaven Marina. Auckland is indeed a City of Sails!
Town Hall, seen from Sky Tower.
Albert Park and University of Auckland (building around the Clock Tower on the left)
Watching sunset from Sky Tower. That day, the sun set just before 8pm.
City of Auckland after dark.
Auckland Art Gallery (Toi o Tamaki). The gallery originally housed civic offices and the public library, but today it is solely a gallery, mainly devoted to showcasing the development of NZ art.
The New Gallery, almost next door to the Auckland Art Gallery, was a former telephone exchange. It adds 30% more space to the existing art gallery after the refurbishment and it focuses on contemporary art.
Sky Tower, as reflected on this building, seen on our way to Victoria Park Market.
Saw this on our way to Victoria Parak Market. Is this art of vandalism?
Local woodcraft products in Victoria Park Market.
A Chinese food stall in Victoria Park Market.
The Old Arts Building and Clock Tower that faces Albert Park. Designed by Chicago-trained architect R.A. Lippincott, and completed in 1926, this is now a part of University of Auckland.
Old Government House which was built from wood, was the seat of government until 1865 when the capital was moved to Wellington. It was also the residence of New Zealand's governor-general until 1969. Queen Elizabeth II broadcast her Christmas speech from upstairs in 1953. It is now a part of University of Auckland, housing the staff common room, council reception suite and apartment for visiting academics.
A big coral tree and .....
a Norfolk pine in front of Old Government House. The two trees are said to have been planted by Sir George Grey during his second term as governor from 1861 to 1867.
We had lots of pleasant surprises as we walked around the Old Government House. There were lots of flowers, especially very big and beautiful roses, and plants which are rarely or never seen in my home country.
Albert Park is located in city central, opposite the Clock Tower.
The band rotunda in the park.
Cast iron fountain in the park.
Another side of Albert Park, near Art Gallery.
Auckland Downtown Ferries Terminal. We took a ferry from here to Devonport in one of the evenings. The ferry ride took about 10 minutes.
Skyline of Auckland city, taken on board the ferry to Devonport.
Devonport, a seaside suburb of Auckland.
At the background is Mount Victoria (named after Queen Victoria) is the highest volcano on Auckland's North Shore but rises to a mere 87 m. It erupted some 20,000 years ago, and its lava flows now line much of Devonport's waterfront.
Devonport Wharf Complex, officially opened in October 1992.
The Esplanade Hotel, a well-preserved Victoria building, in Devonport's waterfront.
A tall clock tower near Devonport Wharf Complex.
Lots of seagulls finding food at the seaside.
King Edward Parade Reserve; here are located....
The War Memorial and ....
and the 1970s Devonport public library.
Devonport town
Guess what is this? .... It is a dustbin, found in Venezia Gelato shop at the Ferry Building. We ate lots of ice-cream while in Auckland!
Auckland War Memorial Museum, an excellent attraction definitely worth visiting. It is located at Auckland Domain. The museum's collection is so vast that we visited twice during our stay in Auckland, in order to be able to cover almost all the exhibits.
The back entrance of the museum. There are three levels of collection in this museum. The ground level is dedicated to the people of New Zealand, both of Maori and European descent, and the Pacific region.
Side view of the main entrance of the Museum. The first level of the museum provides information on the land of New Zealand, while the top level focuses on NZ at war and how these experiences have forged the country's identity.
The main entrance of the Museum evokes the temples Greece. This museum was built in 1929 to commemorate the end of World War I, in which 16,697 New Zealanders died.
Museum cenotaph in front of the musuem.
Museum lobby that features tall columns reminiscent of the Parthenon in Greece. Light filters through the stained-glass ceiling above the lobby.
Stain-glass ceiling above the entrance lobby shows the coat of arms of all British denominations and colonies during World War I.
Interior design of the semi-circular lobby of the back entrance.
Exhibit at Pacific Masterpiece on the ground level.
Maori cultural performance in the museum. Admission to the museum is free but this performance costs NZ$20 per person.
A Maori performance demonstrating Poi (juggling) after the performance. Poi is a form of juggling, or object manipulation with balls on ropes, held in the hands and swung in various circular patterns. It originated with the Māori people of New Zealand (the word poi means "ball" in Māori). Women and men used it to increase flexibility, strength, and coordination. It developed into a traditional performance art practiced mostly by women.
Maori Treasure gallery showcases a superb collection of Maori artifacts such as this wood carving, .....
Traditional Meeting House,...
This pataka (raised storehouse) has two names, Te Puawai o Te Arawa (The Flower of Te Arawa) and Tuhua Kataore (the Pit of the Taniwha 'Kataore'). This pataka was the property of Te Pokiha Taranui, the leading chief of the Ngati Pikiao tribe of the Arawa Confederation.
The pataka Te Oha - The Abundant - stood at Te Waerenga, a village on the northern shore of Lake Rotorua. It was carved about 1825 by Manawa and his son Tahuri-o-Rangi, both famous chiefs and carvers of the Ngati Pikiao tribe of Te Arawa. Tahuri-o-Rangi was one of the parties led by Haerehuka which killed Hunga, a chief of Ngati Haua, at Parahaki near Rotorua on Christmas Day 1835. This led to a long war between Ngati Haua and Te Arawa.
Waka (or canoe) of the Maoris.
Origin of Maori language.
A giant Rimu. At 2.5m in diameter, this was one of the largest rimu trees known, but not the oldest. Its 815 annual rings show how old the tree was when it fell in the 1920s in the King Country. In warm and wet years the growth rings are wider, giving clues to past climates.
World War I Sanctuary on the top level of the museum.
Names of those who died in World War I engraved on the walls of the sanctuary.
Spitfire LF XVIE. The Spitfire was possibly the most famous of the long line of aircraft designed and built by the Vickers-Armstrong Supermarine Works in Britain. The first Spitfire design appeared in 1935 and its name was approved in 1936, during early air trials. The Spitfire's chief designer and project manager was Reginald Mitchell. Mitchell never saw the valuable contribution of the Spitfire was to make to victory - he died in 1937 just as Mark I of the aircraft went into full production.
Loli-Pop exhibition was on during our visit. Loli-Pop, explores one of the extreme edges of this culture: the Japanese Gothic Lolita phenomenon.
Photographic series, taken on the streets of Tokyo, documenting current incarnations of Gothic & Lolita in Japan. This is supported by images of local Loli-Goths, contributing to the New Zealand context of the Exhibition.
There was a protest by motor-bikers in front of the museum, on our first day of visit to the museum.
Auckland Domain in the evening. It is Auckland's - and New Zealand's - oldest park, dating from 1845. It occupies a 50,000-year-old volcanic crater, also one of Auckland's oldest. The field is also used for free outdoor concert over the summer that attracts large crowds.
Auckland Domain is also a popular place with walkers and picnickers.
Sky Tower, seen from Auckland Domain.
"Millennium Tree" - a millennium gift to the City of Auckland from the Chinese Community, Chinese New Zealanders Millennium Trust. It was unveiled by Her Excelllency The Honourable Dame Silvia Cartwright, Governor-General of NZ and presented to Dick Hubbard, His Worship the Mayor of Auckland City on 1 Nov 2005.
The duckponds are the site of natural springs which were the city's first freshwater supply. Native trees were planted in the Domain from 1865.
Winter Garden, a legacy from the Auckland Exhibition of 1913, consist of two glasshouses joined by a courtyard. This is a popular venue for wedding and other photography.
Lots of beautiful flowers outside Winter Garden but we did not get to go in because it was already closed for the day by the time we got there.
Aren't these beautiful?!
We then had a pleasant evening stroll from Auckland Domain to Parnell. This is a digital signboard seen at a bus-stop along Ayr Street.
We saw this plant in the Garden of a house, near Parnell.
In 1841, Parnell was established as New Zealand's first suburb and many of the early buildings remain today.
Chocolate Boutique and Cafe at Parnell.
Shops and restaurants in Parnell. There are many choices of food here.
This car is cool, isn't it?
Sunset in the city of Auckland, seen from hotel room.
One Tree Hill, seen from Mt Eden, Auckland. A dormant volcanic cone and once the site of the largest prehistoric Maori settlement in the region, One Tree Hill was named after the solitary tree which was planted on its summit in 1640. Since then, a succession of single trees on the summit have been attacked by protesters wanting to draw attention to various issues. The last, a Monterey pine, was removed in Oct 2000 by city council workers as it was unstable.
City of Auckland, seen from Mt Eden.
What a big crater! (Mt. Eden)
