Auckland

Over the last two months I have taken a few journeys down the coast to the big city. Unfortunately, these are often for what seems like trivial things, such as my 20 minute animal care course, to get my ID for the university, or to go to an open house for a place that turned out to be not so hospitable. That aside, I do look forward to my trips in. Auckland is the largest city for quite some distance, if you do not count the smaller cities around Auckland. It has some similarities to Saint John, specifically the mix of new and and very old buildings. It is always a pleasant sight to see the old stonework and the beautiful architecture. Also like many of the buildings in Saint John, the ground floor of these buildings are often the home of retail stores, which makes up much of Queen Street shopping.

It is definitely a gorgeous city, especially the CBD (central business district) where there is the amazing mix of old to new architecture. Unlike Saint John and Canada in general, the pedestrian rarely has the right of way, and you really must find a cross walk with lights. J-walking might actually get you killed, even in the small towns, because the drivers just are not expecting you, and they almost always have the right of way. The exception, though you have already guessed, is the walking lights. This is where it seems to change drastically from what I am used to. Pedestrian lights are as frequent and as long (if not longer) than the automobile signals. When a four way intersection goes to pedestrian lights, you will see hordes of people crossing every direction, including diagonally. Then again, it isn't so surprising when you see the volume of people walking.

There are a number of older buildings like the one pictured above, which really makes you wonder why we stopped making such beautiful pieces of art. Some buildings being built now just don't have character like that. I also enjoy the look of the beautiful theatre pictured below.

This one above is also positively spectacular. So much character in the stonework. My favorite though is still the large building down by the harbour which I have shown before (I believe). The combination of colours with the red brick and the tan stone just make this old building shine well into this new millennium!

And of course there is the spectacular stone building that houses the transportation terminal for (I believe) the Auckland CBD. Sadly, this shot does not do it justice, as I had limited time to get to a decent spot to shoot it all.

That being said, there are some newer buildings too, like the sky tower which is an easy landmark for me to orient myself too. The streets are a bit confusing, a few that don't look like streets, and those few cars that are there are moving fast, but I can always rely on that sky tower directing me to my usual parking garage!

I also have to show you this next picture of one of the local banks. I have never seen anything quite like this. There are distinct panels on the class that are picking up the light from a projector on the wall, creating a moving picture that is fragmented into the panels, but appear more like they are a stain glass piece of art that changes periodically. Very extravagant, but also very cool.

My next landmark that helps me orient in Albert Park, a beautiful slice of green in this tall section of Auckland. Aside from some spectacular old trees that have been given pretty much free reign of the hillside, there are a number of statues, artwork, and even a beautiful ban-stand in what appears to be oriental architecture. What makes this park so important is that it helps me orient to the university which is just on the other side of it, when coming from the car park, and then with the aid of both the sky tower and park, I find my way back. It is always a welcome part of my journeys to Auckland.

I still find it interesting that I run across such temperate style trees and then palm trees in the same spot. But then again, we have interesting parks like this at home, and if it were not for my familiarity with our local fauna, would I find it more interesting? Do the Kiwis feel about Albert park like we do about Rockwood or Irving Nature park?