After breakfast, I joined the daily Auckland Free Walking
Tour, led daily by volunteers. I wanted
to do at least one thing where I’d be hanging out with people, rather than
moving around solo. The tour turned out
to be an excellent 2.5 hour wander through downtown, attended by visitors from
Australia, Chile, the USA (besides me), Ireland, and the UK. Louise, the guide, gave us a good
introduction to Kiwi history overall as well as the story of Auckland, starting
with the first Maori arrivals in the 12th century up to the present. Fun information too, such as explaining that
the red neon along a certain alley was a nod to its past as the red light
district and pointing out the local boutique that wardrobes the Prime Minister:
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| She wore the black dress this week. |
Louise was also a proud New Zealander who was also
clear-seeing about the country’s imperfections.
We had an interesting discussion about native peoples, contrasting how
the Maori, Australian Aboriginals, and Native Americans have fared. I was very impressed by her sense that there
is a clear NZ national identity, and some consensus about how they want to be “go
their own way” as nation in the world.
As presented, this was a pretty “blue” center-left perspective, which
sounded good to me. Also quite
refreshing after living with the tiring discord that rules the USA.
She also gave us the demographics of the country: 10% Maori,
20% Pacific Islander, 20% Asian (including the Indian subcontinent) the rest
some variety of Caucasian. This
diversity was apparent as I wandered Auckland.
It was also clear that the latest generation of Kiwis is hybridizing, an
observation that Louise confirmed. A
couple other people observations: 1) people don’t make constant eye contact
here, as they do in California; 2) I have no seen anyone who is severely to
morbidly obese; and 3) everyone has been friendly, helpful, and interested in
my trip. These are first impressions, we'll see how they hold up as I travel.
Not surprisingly, Auckland has changed a bit since 2001. Then, Queen Street and adjacent parallel
streets were pretty much the main CBD.
The area is canyon-like; narrow street, tall buildings, wide awnings
over shops, which range from cheap junk for tourists to upscale brands. Somehow, it had a hodgepodge, slightly dingy
feel. This has not changed, although the
shops are modern – no Starbucks then.
What has changed is an abundance of well-planned development (housing,
tech businesses, boutiques, ubiquitous expresso bars, and swanky cafes) in the areas
around Queen Street. Nice to walk and
run through. Louise said that this
development has given Auckland the same housing issues facing the Bay Area; high
prices, limited affordable stock, with attendant social problems. Here are a couple pictures of the city:
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| The waterfront at night. |
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| Lights in the sidewalk. |
After lunch, I took the commuter ferry to Devonport, a
suburb across the harbor from the city, which every travel source categorically
described as “quaint, charming, and picturesque “. Nice to be on the water, not to mention the
city view:
Devonport was as advertised; luscious well-kept Victorian housing
and shops along the waterfront. But I
didn’t need stuff. So I walked along the
beach to Torpedo Bay, which is home to the museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy
(the main RNZN base is further west). This
small facility told the story of New Zealand’s handful of ships, their crews,
and their global adventures, from World War I through the present. Great ship models and artifacts, such as the piupiu, a Maori skirt presented to the captain of the battlecruiser HMRNS New Zealand,
which fought in European sea battles in World War I. The captain was to wear the necklace during
battles to protect the crew and ship. He
did. It worked; they even got through
the Battle of Jutland with no casualties.
It was rewarding to plug these stories into my broader knowledge of
history, adding this non-American perspective.
Just like the morning tour, there was a strong sense of Kiwi identity to
the exhibits. There was also a powerful
memorial to sailors lost at sea:
Friday May 18: Time to leave Auckland. An Uber to Mad Campers, where I had a
reservation for 15 day rental. A nice welcome by Amy, an hour
of espresso-fueled, thorough orientation and a test drive.
My campervan is a 2012 Nissan – well, egg-shaped thing, named Mt.
Goldsmith (one of the adjacent peaks to Mt. Cook on South Island, yes, I knew
that), whom I think I will call MG for short.
MG’s interior has been very cleverly customized. Rather than describe it, I will point you to this Mad Campers overview.
We set off. MG is not
my e-Golf. He will be fine for this
trip, but I may get tired of the somewhat springy ride, engine that tries hard
but isn’t quite enough, noisy ride, and driving something with aspirations to
be a sail. I am not complaining. I fit in the bed. The paint job screams tourist, which makes me
feel safer in traffic.
Setting off was the five and a half hour drive, call it 450
kilometers, to Napier. South out of
Auckland sprawl into agricultural Waikato.
Working lands – crops, animals, and eventually endless tree farms and
their evil twin, clear cuts. Only rare
bits of native flora. Windy. We gradually climbed to Taupo, sited on the
shores of Lake Taupo, a very large volcanic caldera. This is the land of geothermal action – more
when I get back there.
Of course, I am driving on the
left. I acclimate easily to this, given
my tours of duty Down Under. It was a
little more exciting with MG as I got used to how to maintain situational
awareness. I am already tired of navigating roundabouts, which appear to be a
national obsession.
From Taupo, I followed the Thermal
Explorer Highway across the transpressional mountain spine of North
Island. I got used to pulling over so
faster cars could pass me. Highway in
New Zealand means winding two lane road – the equivalent of the “Blue Highways”
in America that William Least Heat Moon wrote about so well. I was tired by now, up down, up down, pull
over, listen to MG grind up the mountains.
The steeper parts of the drive were undeveloped – finally, large patches
of native bush: tree ferns, acacias, bunch grasses, and many other things I don’t
know.
Eventually down the coastal plain
into Napier. Found my hotel. Hmm, MG would not fit in the car park. The staff were lovely, and both figured out
where I could park and took MG there for me.
It probably helped that I chatted with them for a while and that the
manager was from Mississippi. She was
great. A stroll through Napier to the
Hawkes Bay Marathon/Half Marathon Expo, an Indian dinner, race prep, and bed. Here's moon rise over the Pacific, with the Napier Fountain in the foreground:
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