Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Round The World 2004
Exploring Auckland
Maybe it hadn't been such a great
idea to stay up late last night, because this morning I slept until
0845 and then dozed lightly until 0905. Not that I had a heavy
programme ahead of me today, but I had already missed the deadline
for submitting laundry
I eventually got myself organised and had a light breakfast of a
toasted bagel with coffee in the basement of the mall adjoining the
hotel. Then it was a fairly short stroll to the Sky Tower, the
tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. I rode the elevator to
the observation deck and found myself holding on a few times as I
took in the panorama. It's one of those towers which seems
particularly open (i.e. lots of glass) and is certainly not to be
recommended to anyone prone to vertigo. This goes especially for the
glass floor blocks
But that was as nothing compared to what some people were doing. It is possible to do a bungee-type jump (although there is no bounce involved) all the way down and two people did just that while I was there! Definitely, DEFINITELY not for me!
Safely back on terra firma, I walked
the relatively short distance to Albert Park, where I enjoyed a seat
on a bench, wrote a couple of postcards, and consulted my guidebook
as I was unsure what to do next! My mind made up, I walked to the
waterfront area, first seeing the Ferry Building, then having a
light lunch of another toasted bagel (this time with smoked
salmon and cream cheese
). The conditions became just a bit too windy while I was having
lunch and I was glad to get back to walking again, heading round to
Viaduct Harbour where a Boat Show was taking place over the weekend.
From there I made my way back to hotel, deciding to spend the rest
of the day just resting.
After all, the trip has been quite an intense experience so far, and it's only Week 2 out of 6! I dozed on top of the bed for nearly an hour, confirming that this had been a good idea. I resolved to have a quiet evening, catching another movie and ensuring I was organised and properly rested for a fuller day tomorrow.
