7th November (4)

The views all around were great, though. If I were to compare the four “giants” I’ve been up I would say this was the best:- no queuing and being trailed up and down corridors as in the Empire State in New York; atmosphere clearer than the Monument in Washington; much higher than the Bell Tower in Perth.

Jean

7th November (3)

And the ground looks a long way down from the platform, especially through the glass floor. If you look carefully you might see the girl who had just jumped off the top and landed in the middle of the “target”.

Jean

7th November (2)

Alternatively I could go for “Tall Buildings”. Sky Tower, which I visited today is 328 metres high, although the platform I viewed from was only 220 metres high. I must say, it looks pretty big from the bottom.

Jean

Friday 7th November 2008

This will be our only full day in Auckland so we thought we might take the “hop-on hop-off” bus round the city, until a single-decker appeared and we decided that we woudn’t be able to see a great deal from it so walking might be better. First stop was the Maritime Museum - we seem to be making a habit of frequenting them and I might make “Maritime Museums” my specialist topic on Mastermind. A useful question - “At which Maritime Museum does a man set off a cannon at twelve o’clock noon?” Auckland!

Jean

No more bets

Auckland’s casino prohibits photos inside but this one was taken from a balcony above. Mid-afternoon but plenty of people in there doing their pieces. More blackjack than roulette but still one or two big-rollers. Loads of slot machines with addicts know to spend full days there. Resisted temptation to join the fray but it was not easy and I may be wrong but I thought I heard the casino boss heave a sigh of relief as I exited.

As we pick up our hire car tomorrow (Saturday) and head for remote places, I imagine internet and wifi may become much less available so blogs may become less frequent. Do I hear another sigh of relief !

Topics covered at the city’s excellent Maritime museum include conditions under which immigrants from Europe and elsewhere were shipped to NZ in the late 19th century. Reconstruction of the sleeping area shown here reminded me very much of our stay in the hostel/hotel in Washington. (see earlier blogging). Dave

6th November (3)

The first sight of New Zealand seemed to be that of a “green and pleasant land”.

Jean

6th November (2)

I loved this view of the Australian coastline, about an hour from Melbourne.

Jean

Thursday 6th November 2008

Greg made us very welcome in Melbourne and was a great host. We made the transition to Auckland today and, although the flight is only three and hour hours, the journey door-to-door took us about ten hours altogether. Still, we’re becoming pretty seasoned travellers and are taking things in our stride. The view of Melbourne from the air showed the environs to be pretty dry.

Jean