Sunday, September 14, 2025
Today we fly to New Zealand!
Because of the 6:00 flight, we took a taxi to the Hobart Airport to fly 1 hour and 25 minutes to Melbourne. For lunch, we made sure to eat our biltong, because we could not bring meat into New Zealand
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| Air New Zealand plane at Melbourne Airport |
We had a connecting flight at 12:05 to Auckland, NZ, taking 3 hours and 35 minutes. It was here that a cute little dog sniffed my suitcase, then promptly sat down. Uh, oh, that seemed to mean the dog smelled something illegal. Security went through everything in my suitcase and backpack, and we can only surmise that the dog could still smell the biltong.
In Auckland we puchased AT Hop transport cards, then caught the AirportLink bus to the Puhinui Train Station. A young man who had recently come back from a trip to the United States had us follow him as we were going to the same end station, BritoMart.
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We grabbed dinner at a McDonald's, and
here it's 100% New Zealand Beef |
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Quest on Queen Serviced Apartments was two blocks
from the train station, but because of the lateness of the
hour, we had to call reception, get buzzed in the door,
then find an envelope in a lockbox for our room key |
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| Apartment kitchen |
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| Apartment bedroom |
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| Apartment bathroom and laundry |
Monday, September 15, 2025
Auckland is considered the most international city in New Zealand, located towards the north end of North Island. New Zealand does not have states, instead there are 16 administrative regions. Nine regions are on the North Island and seven are on the South Island.
Auckland was the capital of the country from 1841-1865. The capital was moved to Wellington because of its central location.
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Metrosideros excelsa/Pōhutukawa/New Zealand
Christmas Trees in Emily Place Reserve |
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Old and new with The Grand Hotel
(1889, by William Henry Skinner in
Edwardian Baroque style, which was
reduced to just its façade in 1979)
on the left and the Freemasons' Hall
(1881, in Romanesque/Italianate style)
on the right, backed by the SkyCity Grand
Hotel (2015-2016 as an office building,
then converted to a hotel and apartments) |
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| University of Auckland Caretaker's Cottage (1935) |
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Old High Court (1865-1868, by Edward Rumsey
in Gothic Revival style) (KSS) |
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Pyrrosia eleagnifolia/Leather-leaf Fern growing
on a Diospyros kaki/Japanese Persimmon |
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View of Sky Tower (1994-1997,by
Gordon Moller), the tallest man-made structure
in New Zealand and the Southern Hemisphere
at 328 m/1,076 feet |
A university employee in a utlity cart gave us directions to the Old Government House, and recommended the breakfast there.
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We ordered a long black coffee, iced mocha,
and orange-date scones... |
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| ...and ate in the Staff Common Room |
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| Old Government House Meeting Room |
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Old Government House (1855-1856, by
William Mason as the governor's residence) |
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McLaurin Chapel (1964, by Gummer Ford
in 1950s-1960s Modernism style) (KSS) |
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The main chapel is hexagonal; it is a
non-denominational space, and a memorial
as the money was donated by Sir
William Goodfellow in 1947 to honor
his son killed in World War II |
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Jewish Synagogue (1835, by Edward Bartley
in Romanesque and Moorish styles) was
deconsecrated in 1969 and is part of the
University House of the University of Auckland |
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| University House |
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Ellesmere (1881, in Italianate style) is a surviving
example of an elite urban residence |
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Hamaruna (1876, by James Wrigley in Italianate style
with a double-storey balcony) (KSS) |
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The University Clock Tower (1923-1926, by
Roy Lippincott and Edward Billson of the Chicago
School in Arts & Crafts style ) was under wraps |
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| Pembridge (1876, by William Hammond in Italianate syle) |
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Albert Park (1880s) with Phytolacca dioica/
Ombú, the national tree of Argentina (KSS) |
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Albert Park Floral Clock (1953) is filled with pigeons
as someone had just thrown bags full of crumbs |
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Statue (1904, by Francis John Williamson)
of Sir George Grey, the third Governor and
the 11th Premier of New Zealand |
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Statue (1899, by Francis John Williamson)
of Queen Victoria for her Diamond Jubilee
(60th anniversary of becoming Queen) |
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| Albert Park with 19C fountain |
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A statue (1900, as a bequest of Helen Boyd
for her husband, George Boyd, a renowned
potter of functional and ornamental wares)
and band rotunda (c 1880s) |
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Albert Park Caretaker's Cottage (1882, by Henry Wade),
a Victorian timber bay villa |
Next: Auckland Art Gallery.
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