We start our first day of our road trip by heading to Auckland.  Typically, this is a 2.5 hour drive.  However, we anticipate it taking 3-3.5 hours due to the road closures, detours, and traffic delays caused by cyclone Gabrielle’s destruction.

Our first detour takes us along the coast at Waipu which is a small, windy road.  Large semi trucks, 18-wheelers, and other large vehicles are forbidden from traveling on this road.   But since the main Hwy is closed, they are all taking their chances.  It did not go well for this one truck that blocked our path for well over an hour.  The top photo is just one example of the damaged roads from the pounding rains and strong winds brought by Gabrielle.

Auckland

We meet up with Wayne at the Gamma Hotel and immediately head toward Viaduct Harbour for some lunch.  There are lots of cool restaurants, hotels, and shops by the wharf.  We settle on The Conservatory for lunch which is directly across from Team Emirates New Zealand’s America’s Cup home.  I met a few team members, but for the life of me I cannot figure out who the heck they are 🙂  So, if you recognize any of these fellows, please let me know their names.

Lucky for us, they brought out their two boats for a test run.  We watched them trailer the boats out of the hangar, install the mast, and use a massive crane to splash them into the water.

It seems like so much work to take these boats out for a two hour sail.  However, they work efficiently to get both boats out in less than 3 hours.

And off they go…with a tow by the chase boat (which has (4) 350hp engines)

We stop to have drinks at Brew on the Quay, then head back to the hotel.

Albert Park

There is a beautiful park within walking distance from the Gamma hotel called Albert Park.   We take a leisurely stroll throughout the park and enjoying its beauty.

There are stunning, old trees that wrap around the path and each other.

A little history of Albert’s Park

Albert Park in central Auckland was a military barracks during the conflict in Northland from 1845 to 1846. Troops were stationed there until 1871, when most of the buildings and walls were demolished. The park itself was constructed 10 years later.

There are lots of monuments dedicated to heroes and leaders.

The Sky Tower

The next day, we head to the Sky Tower, the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand. The Sky Tower is 328 meters tall, which is 8 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower and 24 meters taller than the Sydney Tower Eye. 

It took 2 years and 9 months to build this $85million (NZD) tower.  The Sky Tower weighs 21 million kilos or about 6,000 elephants.  It was constructed from 15,000 cubic meters of concrete, 2,000 tones of reinforced steel, and 260 panes of glass.

We truly enjoyed the beautiful views from the 51st and 60th floors.  They have a blue film or filter or light which made all of my photos blue.  They were cleaning the windows and I had a little fun with one of the guys hanging out on the outside of the tower.

Being the adventure capital of the world there are two crazy things you can do at the Sky Tower.  You can Sky Jump off the tower and fall 192 meters straight down or you can take a breath-taking walk perched high above the ground.  The boys had flip flops on so we could not do either of these nutso activities.  We did play around the glass floor panels….

The Maritime Museum of Auckland

You can’t go to the City of Sails without stopping by the Maritime Museum of Auckland.  This museum showcases the history of the city of sails, chronologically in New Zealand.  It was fascinating to learn about the different wakas and ships.

Huge Migration to New Zealand

They also had a separate wing dedicated to the millions of immigrants that came to New Zealand in the 1800-1900’s.  NZ attracted workers by offering them land (see add below).  Immigrants originally travelled in ships that took 6-8 months to cross the ocean. 

Inside, there was a room which they called the “sample” room.  It was meant to give you an idea of what it was like to live on the boat during the initial migration.  They had floors that tilted so you could experience what it was like to be at sea.  Families were squeezed into tiny bunks (top right and center right).  A century later, they figured out how to have drinking water and refrigeration along with actual cabins (bottom right).

They had lots of interactive areas that really gave you the feeling of what it was like back in the day.

• Hotel: The Gamma Hotel
• Kilometers Traveled: 185km
• Travel time: 3.5 hours
• Kilometers Walked: 10.4km on 21 Feb and 9.8km on 22 Feb

We really enjoyed our time in Auckland, but we need to move on to Waitomo.

Events from this blog occurred in mid-February.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual events.  This is the first blog post of our month-long road trip. Be sure to read our last blog where we highlight our overall road trip plan..