Microblog

Morning walk along the black sand beach at the end of our two-night stay in Piha, a world away from Auckland, just a 45-minute Uber ride.

Hiked more beautiful bush trails today: again up, up, up. It’s impossible to pick just one photo to encapsulate the beauty here, so here’s a waterfall we passed this morning.

Today it was time for something different: two nights away at Piha, on the Tasman Sea within the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. Just 20 miles from the home we’re renting, it feels like a world apart with a distinct off-the-grid vibe. After a stroll along the seafront past the weekend surfers, we hiked up a hill, and “up” was certainly the operative word. The views, however, rewarded the climb.

Went for a walk from our home for the month, eventually joining the lovely Oakley Creek (Te Auaunga) Path. The trail follows a winding stream wrapped in carefully restored native bush; the city was all around us, yet stayed completely invisible from the floor of the deep gully.

We took the ferry to Tiritiri Matangi Island, about 20 miles from downtown Auckland. The entire island is a nature reserve, home to restored native bush and bird species once thought extinct. We spent three hours hiking the coastal trails that ring the island. The birdsong was magical: we got to hear sounds that were once thought lost forever.

Decided to take it easy today with a little walk to the park and beach at the end of the peninsula where we’re staying. Along the way, “little libraries” offered free books. For many years now, we’ve built an ebook library we can carry with us everywhere. Right now, Dwight is reading a novel downloaded from Amazon, while I’ve checked out my novel online from the Hennepin County Library back home.

On a ferry ride the other day we were staring at the coastline to the east of downtown Auckland and realized we had never visited it. Today we took a bus along the coast then walked back towards downtown, including various beaches, Mission Bay, and a city park named after New Zealand’s first Labour prime minister. Here, towards the end of our walk, we’ve cut through a Māori community to be presented with this view of our destination.

Spent the day at MOTAT, Auckland’s transport and technology museum. This Meccano (Erector set) differential analyzer, built at the University of Manchester in 1934, is an analog computer that solves differential equations. I still have my childhood Meccano (and my dad’s from his childhood), but not enough to replicate this. I’ve considered building a LEGO version, but suspect gear backlash would defeat me.

​We scoured the map for a place we had yet to visit, somewhere reachable by ferry that offered a scenic walk and a good lunch. When Dwight spotted a restaurant called Hello Sailor, our trip to Half Moon Bay was settled. We took a bus toward the end of a peninsula, then walked along the coastline to the bay for a fresh fish lunch at the restaurant, which sits directly opposite this enormous marina. Afterward, a ferry carried us back to Auckland.

Walked across New Zealand from coast to coast today. It was at a narrow point: starting at Auckland Harbor and heading southeast to a harbor on the other side. ​I took these photos from Maungawhau / Mount Eden, the highest point in the city. The top photo looks back toward where we started this morning, while the bottom photo looks ahead toward this afternoon’s hike. Along the way, we wound through several parks, past Aucklanders out enjoying their Sunday.

Joined a docent-led art walk from the Auckland Art Gallery through downtown to the harbor. Since the group was all locals, we dove straight into the deep end. Our docent expertly connected several public installations by Māori artists to foundational myths and the origins of Aotearoa (New Zealand). (The audio receivers shown in the photo let us hear the commentary clearly over the bustle of the city.)

Attended a wonderful session at the Auckland War Memorial Museum featuring seven Māori, a model for how to educate people about an indigenous culture. Later, we took an audio tour of about a dozen artifacts scattered throughout the museum, each with a queer story to tell. Here, I’m learning about Labour Party representative Louisa Wall, who was wearing this dress when the Marriage Amendment Bill was passed in 2013.

​Caught some stand-up comedy as part of Auckland’s Pride Month. The venue was wonderful: the Aviation Hall at the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT). Our backdrop for the night was a 1945 Belfast-built flying boat, once used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force for maritime search and rescue.

The greater Auckland area is full of peninsulas, sometimes featuring scenic trails, a ferry port, and great lunch spots. Today was one of those days. We took a fast bus to the start of the trail at Takapuna then walked to Devonport through parks and residential areas. After a late lunch in Devonport, we caught the ferry back to Auckland. In this photo, we’re crossing a mangrove swamp.

Today’s adventure was the Auckland Botanical Gardens, with the added bonus of taking the train to get there. While I found it a lovely place for a stroll, Dwight was taking it in on a deeper level. He spotted several plants he recognized from the university greenhouse back home. Here, he’s fully immersed in the native plantings along a trail designed to teach visitors how to identify the local flora.

We’ve been in Auckland for ten days, and we finally walked onto the beach directly in front of our rental. Normally the tide has been in when we wanted to go exploring. Today we stuck to our Point Chevalier neighborhood rather than exploring further. Wandering along the peninsula, we found sandy stretches, parks, a great view of downtown, and yet another decent hole-in-the-wall cafe.