Took bus to Hong Kong Airport for Cathay Pacific flight to Auckland, NZ.
The flight is full and we did not get the seats we thought we'd booked. I am not feeling well so the 10 hour journey was not a pleasant one.
Early check-in at he Mt Richmond Lodge, Best Western .
After a nap and a shower we are met by long-lost relatives Bronwyn & Nancy who take us to Purewa Cemetery for some genealogy research. We enjoy a tasty lunch in a cafe on the beach then drive up Mt Eden, one of many extinct volcanoes in the area, for a spectacular view of Auckland. Formed 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, Mount Eden (Maori name Maungwhau) is the highest volcano on the Auckland isthmus.
Back at the hotel we do some laundry, have another snooze and a bite to eat.
In the Maori language, Auckland is known as Tamaki Makau Rau, the city of 100 lovers. It earned this name because it was a place desired by all and conquered by many.
The Auckland region is an antipasto of environments laid out on a huge platter to make one amazing city, boasting three harbours, two mountain ranges, 48 volcanic cones and more than 50 islands.
Auckland's population is approximately 1.3 million, making it by far the largest city in New Zealand, with one third of the country's entire population.
2 comments:
Hi Annette, glad to hear your travels are going ok, we are still stuck in winter, here. I want to borrow some of or maybe all of your polka vespers blurb fo St. James newsletter....is that ok with you ?? jessica.
Help yourself Jess. It still seems like a surreal experience. The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. I told my Mom the story, St Phillips being her old church, and she was most offended by them playing the beer barrel polka and dancing in the aisles during vespers.
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