City of Sails – Part 3: Central Business District

For a long time, I truly wanted to make a trip to Auckland to photograph its Central Business District. The opportunity presented itself when Eric’s cousin, Michael, with his wife, Janna, and their 13-month-old son, Wesley, visited us in August. “The cousins” (as we had named the group for E’s sake) spent most of their time in New Zealand exploring the North Island, however, before they left, we took them on an excursion downtown Auckland.

E and I took advantage of the limitations of both our cars and headed for the city on a bus (E loves using public transportation!). E was so excited waiting at the bus stop.



We met with the rest of our group at the eastern end of Queen Street - the major commercial thoroughfare in the Auckland CBD. Queen Street starts at Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Centre (on the right) and the Downtown Ferry Terminal (far left).



We proceeded west from here, uphill towards the street’s other end, where it meets with Karangahape “K” Road (3 kilometers later).



As we walked, I took pictures. Auckland, sadly enough, is not a stunning city. Its architecture lacks uniform style and character. I find it rather drab and uninspiring with few landmarks and neighborhoods worth the time.













Yet, Queen Street is known by repute all over the country, even by people who have never seen it. The street has been the site of numerous parades (last week they held the controversial “Boobs in Bikes”), marches and other events of political, cultural or sporting nature. It is the main retail precinct of the central city, with most national store, bank and restaurant franchises having a branch on the street.

One of such landmarks is Auckland Town Hall. It was built in 1911 in the English Baroque style.



Right next to the Town Hall is Aotea Centre built in 1990 - a performing arts and event centre. Unfortunately, Aotea Square between the Town Hall and Aotea Centre has been undergoing construction so all we were able to see was some unsophisticated artwork.







And the Auckland Civic Theatre - a large heritage theatre that first opened in 1929. It is a famous example of the atmospheric theatre style, in which lights and design were used to convey an impression of being seated in an outdoor auditorium at night, creating the illusion of an open sky complete with twinkling stars. Eric and I are yet to visit the theatre. I read though that the theatre is also known for its Indian-inspired foyer, which includes seated Buddhas, twisted columns and domed ceilings. The main auditorium was designed in a similar style, imitating a Moorish garden with turrets, minarets, spires and tiled roofs as well as several famous Abyssinian panther statues.



A little alley I like a lot is Elliot Street housing “Elliot Stables”- an epicurean village set in the original 1800’s warehouse. Elliot Stables are marketplace where specialist artisans trade organic meats, cheeses, wines, cakes, liqueurs and whisky’s alongside gourmet eateries of Spanish tapas, French creperies (delicious!), Italian bruschetta, German sausages (quite outstanding!) and more. It is a popular lunch venue.





One of the tourists’ must-do attractions is the city’s symbol - the 328 meter high, Sky Tower.







We took the elevator to the Main Observation Level (at 186 meters).













And then another ride, up to the other viewing platform, Sky Deck (at 220 meters). From high above, we had a great 360-degree panorama of the city and its surroundings (apparently one can see as far as 80 kilometers in all directions).

















Again, only few things worth mentioning: Mount Eden or “Maungawhau,” the “Mountain of the Whau tree” in Maori. Its summit is 196 meters above sea level and its bowl-like crater is 50 meters deep. The last eruption took place apparently 15,000 years ago.



Auckland War Memorial Museum is situated in the Auckland Domain on the hill known by Maori as “Pukekawa” in the suburb of Parnell. It has occupied this site since 1929. Originally, however, as New Zealand’s first museum, it was established in 1852 in a two-room farm cottage in the central Auckland suburb of Grafton. The museum's collection is vast yet the children's section never holds E's attention for too long.



As expected, fairly quickly did we exhaust what CBD had to offer. We strolled slowly down towards the wharf to have a snack at the Viaduct.







Before we chose one of many welcoming establishments, the boys played in the warmth of the setting sun.





E loved having his little cousin around… maybe a bit too much!



We’re looking forward to hosting more family and friends… before we pack our household again and bid farewell to the Kiwiland.