Auckland, New Zealand
02/20/2005 - 06/04/2006
Our view across the harbor toward downtown Auckland from the Bayswater marina in the suburb of Bayswater, Auckland.
Whisper in Bayswater marina.
Life in a new Country and Culture
We are living in a new country, working new jobs and adapting to a labor government and economy. We live aboard Whisper in the nicest marina in Auckland harbor and work across the harbor in Auckland's central business district.
In general, daily work-life is good, but we have taken the necessary precautions to avoid a "rat race" lifestyle... We commute on a ferry that stops at our marina, we enjoy working back in technology and we are making new friends.
On some days, New Zealand seems like a bustling, innovative, pride-filled, and plugged-in nation. On other days, it feels like a remote South Pacific island nation. We take pleasure in both of these aspects of life in New Zealand.
Our cruising plans are slowly coming into focus. The plan is to take a "seasonal cruise" up to Fiji in April of 2007 and return to Auckland in November 2007. Boat work, budget constraints, or work opportunities might conspire to delay us another season. Either way, life is good.
City at night. City at Night. Whoa! Yeah! Guitar... Love that Sky Tower. A fairly recent addition to the city, we cannot picture Auckland without it.
Auckland -- the "City of Sails" -- as seen from the top of Mount Victoria in Devonport. Click here to see a larger version.
This photo log tries to give you a feel for what life is like here in the big city of Auckland. Auckland, is the largest city in New Zealand, with about 1.3 million people in the entire greater Auckland region -- about the size of a small city in the US. Auckland is surrounded by the sea andenjoys a temperate climate similar to Northern California. The labor market is decent, the suburbs are quaint, and the people are friendly. All that New Zealand has to offer is just a quick flight (or long drive) away. Australia and the islands of the South Pacific are close enough to reach in a week-long sail -- or in a few hours on a plane.
We are both technology contractors in the Auckland central business district ("CBD"). The CBD is a relaxing, scenic, 10 minute ferry ride away from Bayswater marina. Duncan works at government business and trade development agency, and Robin contracts to Vodafone -- the big mobile telecom. The work and lifestyle is pretty laid-back compared to our pre-cruising work/life in the Silicon Valley.
Around Bayswater, Devonport, & the North Shore, Auckland
The Waitemata Harbor reaches up into the Auckland metropolitan area creating a clear divide between the "north shore cities" and the Auckland central and city-suburb areas. An extremely congestedharbor bridge connects the north shore cities to the central business district and surrounding suburbs. Given our resolution to avoid commuting via cars in traffic, we could not live on the north shore if it were not for the great ferry services.
Bayswater is a small residential community directly across from the central business district on a small peninsula. Most of the homes in this area were built pre-1950 and many of them have changed little in the last 60 years.
There is no real "town" of Bayswater. Devonport, on the other hand, is one of the nicest small villages in New Zealand (or anywhere for that matter). There is a four block main street of shops, cafes, restaurants, real estate agents, and a genuine English Pub. Off the main street is more of the same -- some real character neighborhoods. No McMansions here.
Our 20 minute door-to-door commute. The Osprey ferry motors out the channel into the harbour. Osprey is one of several ferrys that make 20+ trips per weekday to and from Bayswater marina. We catch the ferry about 100 yards from Whisper.
A calm beautiful morning in Bayswater marina. About 1/3 of a typical year looks like this. Sweet, huh?
University students Sam (left) and Chris are excellent, hard-working, reasonably-priced resources. We hope to draw upon them whenever Whisper needs her spa day. Whisper looked 100% better when these guys were done waxing her hull and polishing her stainless.
The Bayswater Marina flys the flags of the boats in the marina. That's us down there between Britain and France. There are about 10-20 American boats in the marina.
High tide.
Low tide. The tidal range peaks at about 12 feet.
One or more schools keep their rowing shells at the marina and practice during the week.
A typical summer Sunday BBQ at the "boaties lounge" of the Marina. The skewered items are Robin's creations. The Kiwis and Brits lean toward the sausages.
Roger (UK-UpSpirits), Kate (UK-Finale), and Russel (NZ-Tutanakai). Not sure whose hand that is?
The lovely sunset on Auckland Anniversary day (end of January).
Auckland Anniversary day fireworks. Okay, so it was better in person.
A typical Bayswater "villa" or bungalow. This one is actually new construction built in the traditional style. It might even have insulation in the walls!
Then there is the 1940's-70's construction. These were likely once military housing, so the low "quaint factor" is forgiven.
Another traditional villa. Kinda cute, huh? About 50% of Bayswater and Devonport area are similar to this.
Another calm beautiful day on the harbor. But before you get the idea that it always looks this way...
It can get windy here. This 35 to 45 knot sou'wester wreaks havoc on the moored boats outside our marina.
A few boats previously on moorings end up high and dry. According to the harbor master -- these boats escaped any serious damage. All boats were off the beach/rocks the next day and either back on new mooring pennants, or off to the yard for inspection and repairs.
This one was driven up in the rocks.
These two boats nestled up with one another in the shallows.
40 knot winds? Excellent -- no worries mate -- this will be a good time to practice withstorm sails. Whileother boats were snapping moorings, this boat was out preparing for the upcoming coastal cup race.
Wind surfing and kite surfing are huge here and the area around the marina provides some excellent windsurfing. This shop is a block away from Whisper.
Duncan decides to give wind surfing a go. Here is his second day out on a training board -- on a nice calm day of course. After 5 times out now, he is starting to get the hang of it.
One of the great, windy days when the wind sports are great and the tide is high. At low tide, thisarea is a muddy, sandy area. A Kiwi invention -- the Blokart -- can be seen out on the tidal flats when the water is out. It's a three wheeled sit-down go-cart frame, with a big wind-surfing sail. Dry land can't stop a determined sailor.
Duncan? Not yet.
We don't know this person, just a cool pic. We were impressed that his ball cap is still on.
While on the topic of winged-things...this plane did a low fly-by over Bayswater (and looped all of Auckland) one day last year.
It is Air New Zealand's first 777 and a big milestone for the small airline. The news published the exactflight plan over town...just so we can admire it and take a picture.
Sir Peter Blake's family lives a couple of blocks away from Bayswater Marina. Sir Peter Blake is a Kiwi (and world) sailing legend. He was killed in 2001 while on an Amazon expedition.
The home sits on two beautiful waterfront lots -- with a great view of the city. The native bush landscaping is unbelievable. If every suburban home was landscaped this way, city-living would be great!
Devonport, Auckland
So far, Devonport is our favorite Auckland neighborhood. Of course, it's our closest real town/neighborhood, so our affection may be skewed by the fact we spend time there every weekend.
The routine is usually a stop at the PO box at the post office, brekkie (breakfast) at the Sierra Cafe, drop-off and pick up the cleaning, browse the windows in the real estate offices, swing by the New World (big) grocery, maybe a stop at the Hamner hardware -- and when required, pick up another kilo of Chiasso coffee (almost a good as Peet's!)
Sometimes there are big events in Devonport -- parades at Christmas and ANZAC day, Coastal Cup sailing race starting line off the wharf, and/or free summer concerts (17 of 'em every year scattered around the north shore).
Remember, the seasons here in the southern hemisphere are upside down from what we are used to in the northern hemisphere. Something we are still trying to get used to. Christmas in December is the start of summer, and skiing in winter happens in July and August. Jeesh.
Quaint downtown Devonport. A great small town feel and, by ferry, only 10 minutes from the big city of Auckland. A great "bedroom community" with its own independent charm. A simple small bungalow is over $800K NZ (>$500K US). The price of the nicer homes with views areover a million Kiwi dollars ($650K US).
The view of the summer sky in Devonport's main downtown park. Love the palms. A huge kids playground, the library, and a vast green lawn draw families, picnics, dogs, trikes, and bikes.
Oh, and a fountain too. Is there another baby-boom starting? Thekids here seem so mellow and well adjusted. What's going on? Maybe not enough TV and video-game stimulation?
The swimming beach in downtown Devonport at low tide. In the summer, the beach is busy with sand-castle construction projects, sunbathing, and swimmers. On this day, the beach is empty because the Christmas parade is starting...
We await the Christmas parade. Clear the streets, here they come!
These little banner-wielding sprouts were leading the Chinese Dragon procession. Where's Santa?
Moms, dads, and kids -- from a variety of neighborhood schools -- all dressed up as? Well as cute kids in costumes. Where's Santa?
A little dose of Scotland in your Christmas parade is quite nice. But where's Santa?
Some cool old cars. But where's Santa?
Well, Santa was a no-show for the Christmas parade. Huh?
Of course, Robin was the first to notice there was no Santa, exclaiming loudly "where's Santy Claus"?
Alarmed children all around us -- now coming to the same realization -- looked up at their parents with sullen looks and questioning brows.
The parents glared at Robin and quickly hustled their kids away from the trouble-making lady in the back row. Robin looked at Duncan, shoulders shrugged, palms up, and asked "what"?
We never did find out why a Christmas parade neglected to include a Santa Claus.
The Maori sacred island of Rangitoto from our local beach. This volcano erupted and formed this island in the Hauraki gulf about600 years ago. Although a few small "baches" (tiny holiday homes) were constructed on the island in the 1930's they are now owned by a preservationtrust.
The beach at "Narrow Neck"is about a mile from Whisper. It is our favorite "it's beautiful day, let's go over to the beach" beach. The Optimist sailing club here is huge and competitive. We enjoy sitting and watching the dozens of tiny sail boats competing around the marks.
One of the free summer concert series -- this one at Narrow Neck. Here the Kiwi band Hot Grits warms up the crowd before the big act OdESSA (yeah, that's the way they spell it) comes on.
OdESSA gets the crowd onto their dancing feet. Great concert. Great relaxing way to spend a weekend day in early February.
The great little neighborhood golf course in Devonport. We don't golf, but this sure looks like a nice local course. The Kiwis will play this course year-round, with only the gloomiest, cold, rainy days keeping them off the course.
Our stylin' 1997 Mazda Millenia. A high-miles import from Japan that gets us around (when we don't take a ferry somewhere). It is our only car and we put less than 2000 miles on it last last year! We don't drive much!
Browns Bay beach with Rangitoto in the background. We keep our folding camp chairs and chilly-bin (cooler) in the trunk of the car -- ready for picnics and beach events.
Another summer series concert on the beach up in Browns Bay. About 20 minutes north of Devonport.
The view from the top of Mount Victoria in Devonport (another volcano), looking northeast into the Hauraki gulf.
And the city-side view from the top of Mount Victoria. Nice.
Outside Auckland
Okay, now let's take a spin around the Auckland region. In our "flash" car (as the Kiwi's would say for stylin' or fancy), we get out and about to explore. Once every couple of months, wetake the car out somewhere new. Usually, it is just a day trip out and back, usually, to one of Auckland's great regional parks -- but occasionally, wefind a place to stay and check out an area for more than just a whirlwind day trip.
As you know from previous logs, we traveled a big chunk of the South Island, and just a few areas of the North Island -- north of Auckland.
The inside of the peninsula looking south west. The waters around Coromandel are a great cruising and fishing ground. The Hauraki Gulf is great for sailing, boating, fishing, camping, hiking, and cruising! See the next log on cruising the Hauraki Gulf on Whisper.
The Coromandel
First stop, the Coromandel peninsula. The Coromandel peninsula is a huge protective peninsula east of Auckland. It forms the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames.
The tip of the peninsula is graced with steep 2000-3000foot high mountains.
The peninsula protects all of Auckland from the southern ocean swell. and the Great Barrier Island and Little Barrier island protect the Hauraki gulf form everything else. This means good surfing, rugged beaches, and few people.
We didn't pick the best day to spin through, but you get the idea. Beautiful, remote, lots of activities like camping, hiking, surfing, and relaxing "away from it all". There are several small resort communities out on the Coromandel (and a marina), and the ferry runs from Auckland to the town of Coromandel in the summer time.
The Coromandel east coast looking north. Another great cruising area yet to be explored.
Here is a view on the outside of the peninsula -- looking south towardthe Mercury Islands and the southern ocean.
First stop: Raglan. Raglan was featured in the movie "Endless Summer", a 60's surf film that demonstrated to generations of subsequent surfers that surfing could be a year-round activity -- if you were willing to travel a bit.
Kawhia
Pronounced Kar-FEE-a. In Maori, a "wh" is pronounced as an "f". Kawhia is a couple hours southwest of Auckland on the "rugged west coast".
The main attraction of this coast is Maori history, deserted black sand beaches,surfing, and fishing. There is a significant amount of farming livestock as well.
We spent the night in Kawhia. Duncan had just finished the book "The Tides of Kawhia" and was intrigued to go visit the area where the (some fiction, some factual speculation) novel was set. It described life and events in the Maori culture in the early 1800's. Gruesome. No wonder the NZ rugby team is so tough!
The assortment of boards at one of the Raglan surf shops.
Next stop: Kawhia. Arriving late afternoon at Kawhia harbor.
This huge harbor was home to the early Maori and is the burial ground for one of the first and most impressive waka (war/migratory canoe) arrivals-- the Tainui. 800 years ago, the Polynesians sailed their waka from the Marquesa's to New Zealand and began the first human settlement. New Zealand is the one of last land areas on earth to be discovered and settled by humans.
The Blue Chook Inn in Kawhia. A pub, restaurant, and accommodation. We really enjoyed our stay here -- the owners are great.
The marae (sacred Maori temple of worship) at Kawhia. You may only enter with permission of the iwi (tribe).
Just outside the Kawhia harbor. The rugged, lonely black sand beaches of the west coast.
Not very busy. You could walk the beach for several miles in either direction and not see a soul.
Just north of Kawhia is the Aotea harbor and the tiny resort village of Aotea. This picture demonstrates why boating is not as popular on the west coast. The sand dunes across the harbor sure look fun though!
The general (and only) store in Aotea. Many of the homes are small pre-fabricated homes that have been plunked down in small rectangular and tree-less yards. But they have a nice view of the harbor when they are tree-less!
On the way home from Kawhia, we stopped and took a little walk down a trail to see Marokopa falls. We were not disappointed with the pay-off of our 15 minute stroll.
So much to Explore
Remember, we still have a huge chunk of the middle and south sections of the North Island to explore.
Some of the major tourist destinations like Rotorua, Taupo, Hawkes Bay, Mt. Manganoui, New Plymouth, Mt. Taranaki, Mt. Rapehu -- we have not seen any of these! Duncan has been to Wellington on business, but has not done any real exploring -- and neither of us have been to the national museum (the Te Papa). We still have tons to explore just on the North Island!
But wait, there's more to tell about the Auckland area. Let us introduce you to some of the great regional parks and Auckland surrounds.
There are 21 regional parks around Auckland.
Each of the parks mentioned here are less than 1.5 hours from Auckland. We have been astonished by how few people there are in these parks. No complaints -- we enjoy the solitude!
The view down on the Puhoi river from the top of the hill in Wenderholm regional park. Okay, it was a bit drizzly and foggy this day, but it was still beautiful.
The gardens and groves in Wenderholm are beautiful.
Anchor Bay in the Tawharanui regional park. There is a marine park offshore and virgin dunes with no development onshore. The beach at low tide was beautiful and empty.
Well, the "no development" comment needs qualification. There is a huge sheep station surrounding Tawharanui, and it is lambing season again. Aren't' they the cutest?
Let's name this one "Lambchop"! But don't get too attached to this little guy -- he'll go for about $70 NZ atmarket. Oh stop it !!!
The pastoral paddock. Typical rural New Zealand setting. Some of the world's most spectacular real estate -- inhabited by grass-munching sheep.
Another rugged west coastbeach. Murawai, Piha, and this one (Karekare) are just a quick drive from Auckland. The hiking is great and surfing is popular. As a place to live? A bit too rugged for our tastes. We seem to like the east coast beaches better.
The view down on the town of Piha. It is a small surf and weekend community, just over the Waitakere range form Auckland. About a 45 minute drive from Auckland central.
Robin strolling on Piha beach.
Quick, the sun popped out! Snap a photo. There are surfers in those waves
Piha beach on a cloudy afternoon. Note the crowds. This is a short drive away for a population of about 1.5 million people. That is over 1/3 the population of the entire country.
Yet, we are virtually alone.
From the top of the Waitakere range in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Parkland (between Auckland and Piha). Xena, Hercules, and The Piano were filmed in this park.
The rural and the city converge quickly around Auckland. This enormous estate / farm is just a quick drive from Auckland. The Waitemata north harbor is in the distance.
Robin enjoys the sunshine and a beverage at a little cafe atop the Waitakere ranges.
The Pukeko. This tall chicken-sized bird is everywhere on the north island. Kinda pretty.
Sorry for the pink color saturation issue here. The sand at the Pakiri beach is really more white than pink. This is the view north.
More like this color. This is the view south. Busy huh? This may be our favorite beach so far -- but nobody (new) can live here -- or build here because it is now a protected reserve.
Wait, there are some people off in the distance behind Robin.
Goat Island marine reserve. The water is full of snorkelers. Not sure what they are seeing. These are NOT tropical waters. We'll have to check it out on a warm, sunny summer day.
Remember Rangitoto island? The sacred Maori volcano? Well, a ferry takes you out so you can hike up it and/or around it. We hiked up, then 3/4-way around the base.
It is only 800 ft tall, but the view is great and it is good exercise. The land in the foreground is Rangitoto, then the peninsula of land mid-picture is Devonport, then beyond is Auckland central.
These lava fields are only 600 years old. Fresh metamorphic. Cool.
The happy hiker.
Downtown Auckland
No Auckland regional tour would be complete without a quick visit to downtown Auckland.
Auckland is your typical cosmopolitan "world" city. However,in many ways,it has a real small-town feel. We see people we know, or at least recognize -- every day -- just walking down the street, sitting in cafes, or stopping by the local pub.
The city is clean, bustling with commerce, ethnically diverse, and at least in our experience -- friendly and lacking any significant "stress" or violent crime. There is a small number of homeless -- which we did not expect to see in a social-leaning democracy -- but compared to a big California city... Basically, we really like Auckland.
The Chinese Lantern Festival is a big deal. The local main park -- "the Domain" packs out with 100,000+ people during the festival.
The Civic theater is a landmark. Mostly because it is the one Peter Jackson's King Kong demolishes.
Just off the main "Queen Street" is Vulcan Lane. Great character pedestrian-only street with great bars, restaurants and shops. You must leave Queen Street to get any feel for Auckland.
Robin peeks out of one of our top three Auckland restaurant choices -- the Merlot Wine Cafe. A dozen or so excellent, simple, fresh food choices -- reasonable prices, great wine, consistent quality, friendly service.
Well, there you have it. Auckland New Zealand. Sorry it took 18 months to get another update out here. We'll do better once we are cruising again. This work thing really puts the cramp in leisure time!