Auckland, New Zealand

February 28, 2021

We are currently in lockdown in Auckland due to a recent community Covid outbreak. However, we are allowed to walk in our neighborhood, so we decided to go for an after dinner walk in the nearby St. Mary’s Bay neighborhood, that slopes down toward the Westhaven Marina and the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Along the way, we passed the local Plunket Society center. Founded in 1907, this New Zealand institution provides a range of free services for the wellbeing of children under the age of five. It takes its name from Lady Victoria Plunket, a mother of eight and wife of the Governor of New Zealand at the time the society was founded. She became a devoted patron of the Society and was instrumental in the decision to establish a professional nursing service to help parents with their infants. By the time that she returned to England in 1910, nine branches had been formed throughout the country and today there are hundreds. Mal still has the small Plunket Book in which the visiting nurse wrote notes

on his progress. He wants everyone to know that she described him as a happy baby with a healthy appetite.

There are a wide variety of traditional and modern houses in St. Mary’s Bay. Here are some that took our attention.

Many had nicely sculpted hedges.

And other plants

Including this massive Rosemary plant.

There are also a few apartment buildings in the neighborhood. We really liked this one.

We took time to take a swing in a local park with a view down toward the Harbour Bridge.

The tree holding the swing had a remarkable camouflage pattern, that could have been the template for an army uniform.

We came across some classic cars, including these German cousins.

But our favorite was this Morris Marina.

There are two Auckland landmarks that are visible from all over the city and far beyond. One is Rangitoto, the volcanic that sits just offshore. The second is the Sky Tower, which aptly towers over the rest of downtown at a height of over 300 meters. Completed in 1997, it is the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere and the 27th highest tower in the world. Here are some views of it that we encountered as we made our way back home.