Tag Archives: Auckland

February 26, 2021 · 5:35 am

Fun Photo Friday — Circumnavigating New Zealand; Auckland Favorites 3


Queen Street Backpackers

Today we bid farewell to this long series covering an equally long journey. Along the way you saw Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. You got to see a circumnavigation of Australia. You then viewed another circumnavigation, this time of New Zealand.

Ferry Building Reflection

My next travel series will be another cruise. That journey originated in the Mediterranean and eventually went transatlantic. But until then I’ll be doing a photo run of sunsets taken here in El Paso, as we’ve had a spectacular series of them over the past several months. Look for a sunset a day over the next several weeks.

Mirrored Yachts

After the sunset series I owe my firearms friends some articles as well. Those I’ve yet to decide upon, but I’m leaning toward showing off a pair of classic Russian Mosin-Nagant 91/30 rifles (1938 and 1943)and a Mosin-Nagant M44 carbine (1944). I may throw in a First Look at a Ruger AR-556 MPR that week, or perhaps instead a First Look at a Ruger Mark IV Hunter or SIG P226 Enhanced Elite from2012. Whatever I choose, it’ll be fun. Alas.

007’s Aston Martin DBS

At any rate, we’ll be back to travel articles following those sunsets and firearms. I’ll close today’s Fun Photo Friday with this last image of our 2019-2020 Oceania Adventure:

Akdeniz Bar Café, Devonport
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February 24, 2021 · 5:35 am

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Auckland; Taking in more sights


Superleggera DBS

So, today we’ll just cruise around Auckland and take in some more sightseeing. And, yes, even in late fall you’ll find blooming flowers on the North Island:

Auckland in Bloom

I know. I know. You’ve seen it before. But, I do so love the classic look of the Auckland Ferry Building:

Ferry Building

Up until this day I had never heard of a “rechargery”. Just kidding. Big Street Rechargery is the name of a business specializing in repair, rental, and recharging of electric bicycles:

Big Street Rechargery

Here is the view looking up beneath Sky Tower:

Beneath Sky Tower

We’ve seen the new (above), so let’s finish today with a look at the old. Here’s a neat little architectural detail we stumbled across at 118 Queen Street:

118 Queen Street

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February 22, 2021 · 5:35 am

Circumnavigating New Zealand — Auckland; Dining Options


Majestic Princess in port

Between the circumnavigation series on Australia (beginning with: Circumnavigating Australia — Starting in Sydney) and the current circumnavigation series on New Zealand (starting here: Circumnavigating New Zealand — Fiordland 2019), it’s been a long, long blog haul. And before those I did a series on the stopover we made to the Cook Islands (starting with: Rarotonga, Cook Islands — An Airbnb Rental on the Beach; Dinner with Friends) before continuing on to Sydney. All told, I’ve been creating articles describing this trip since 27 April 2020, with only a few unrelated articles interspersed.

Ferry Building in the afternoon

As you may recall, this series was the culmination of actually two separate cruises. The first occurred in early 2019 aboard Majestic Princess. The second began one year later aboard Radiance of the Seas.

Looking over yachts to Sky Tower

But all good things must come to an end, and this series concludes on Friday. Yes, we’re still viewing Auckland, New Zealand this week, but let’s spend some time to talk about food. There are some great places to eat here in Auckland, but our favorite by far was an upscale place overlooking Viaduct Basin. This was a truly delightful discovery called Soul Bar & Bistro. Alas, silly me, we went there after sunset, and I neglected to bring along my camera. But I did snag earlier that day a photo of the outside dining area.

Soul Bar & Bistro — Fantastic restaurant

If you’re looking for cheaper fare, walk westbound along Jellicoe Street, in the Wynard Quarter just west of Viaduct Basin. You’ll soon come upon a sign reading Sanford & Sons. Head inside. There you’ll find numerous dining venues (Auckland Fish Market website), and a shared glass enclosed courtyard. It was here that we grabbed a bite for lunch from the Market Seafood Galley.

Sons? There were more than just Lamont? Who knew?

Market Galley is a delightful place. Here’s sampling of their wares, in a photo from their website:

Beer Battered Fish & Chips — Tastes as good as it looks

Here’s a view of a couple who really know how to enjoy the scenery near the marina at Viaduct Basin:

Looking across Viaduct Basin

I’ll leave you today with this fun bit of architectural detail.

Ferry Building architectural details

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