Auckland Impressions

What a city. We are all a little in love with this town after just a day here. A few observations:

Geography: bound on both sides by water, it's tough to go far in Auckland and not see the shimmer of water somewhere. The port is a major commercial and naval presence in addition to a cruise ship stop. Thankfully we did not have to share the waterfront yesterday with cruise passengers but we saw a giant one sailing in this morning. There are mountains and islands in the distance when you find yourself up high enough to get a view.

Architecture: a lot of the city is under construction currently. Much work appears to be upgrades and repairs for earthquake damages but there is plenty of replacement building going on too. Nestled between historic 100 year old buildings are new sky scrapers and modern museums expressing art externally. The city uses containers in their new building, finding new and unique ways to utilize these rectangular steel boxes. From restaurants to visitor centers to spontaneous libraries, these containers are everywhere.

The North Wharf: Auckland hosted the America's Cup which resulted in the need for additional housing, restaurants, etc. The result was a revitalization of the viaduct. Once an industrial and inhospitable part of town, it now serves as a hopping hub of restaurants, bars, museums, conference center and marina. They have re-purposed large manufacturing warehouses and storage facilities into public spaces, parks and gardens. On a sunny Friday fall afternoon, this place was alive with families playing, food trucks setting up and the restaurants buzzing.

Floating Fortunes: the wealth of this city is apparent in it's marina. I have no experience to adequately guess the value of these yachts but most were the size of cruise ships. We wandered along miles of marina, gawking at the vessels and luxury floating mansions.

Weather: It changes quickly here and a single day brought nearly everything but snow. It rained, it drizzled, it was sunny, it was cloudy. First, the sun when unobstructed by clouds, is the hottest thing I have felt. It was startling how intense it was for the brief times it shown directly. The, large white clouds would provide respite from the heat. We sat on the patio of our hotel, playing cribbage in the sun/cloud and enjoying drinks.