March 8, 2021
We walked from our home to nearby downtown today. Along the way we passed what must be one of the largest fitness centers in the world. Les Mills was a New Zealand olympian, representing New Zealand in the shot put and discus throw. He was also mayor of Auckland for most of the 1990s. In 1968 he started his first fitness center. Over 50 years later, Les Fitness International is now a phenomenon, licensing workouts to over 20,000 clubs worldwide with classes being taught by over 140,000 instructors. There are also 12 Les Mills gyms in New Zealand including the flagship gym we passed on Victoria Street.
The photo does not do justice to the real size of the center. There is an adjoining modern three floor building and a recently added multistory carpark. It used to be our favorite gym anywhere and we would regularly attend the gym’s trademark bodypump and RPM spin classes when we were back in New Zealand. But after a recent renovation, we find the center just too loud, with music blasting at ear splitting levels from the various classes happening in different parts of the gym. Now, we prefer to do the Les Mills online classes from the comfort and quiet of our own home.
Just up the hill from Les Mills is the Sky City entertainment complex. Sitting directly beneath the Sky Tower, it includes a 700 seat theater, bars and restaurants, three hotels, and Auckland’s only casino.
Next we found ourselves on Queen Street, Auckland’s main shopping avenue. In Auckland, the weather is always changing. At one moment you can be in bright sunshine and in the next you are in driving rain. We expect that it is because of these rapid changes that the sidewalks of most of New Zealand’s shopping streets are covered by verandahs. Queen Street is no exception.
The shops on Queen Street, particularly down toward the harbor where it dead ends, are mainly targeted toward the hoards of tourists that in non-Covid times flow out of the massive cruise ships that tie up at the nearby wharves. We have seen as many as four of these huge ships in port at once, each carrying thousands of passengers.
To find more interesting and original stores, it is best to take one of the access ways, such as Vulcan Lane, that lead up off Queen Street into small neighboring streets.
One area just off Queen Street that is now a mecca for trendy boutiques, restaurants, bars and cafes is Britomart. Sitting directly behind the downtown rail terminal, it used to be Auckland’s central bus terminal.
While we were there, we noticed numerous musicians being filmed by roving bands of camera and sound operators. Apparently, there were filming for a new television series, aptly, called “Buskers”.
We stopped for lunch at one of the trendy restaurants.
The boutique Hotel Britomart makes these vintage style bikes available for its guests.
We liked the mural of different urns on this building.
Mal used to work part-time at a law firm in this building when he was at law school.
He also spent more than a little time at the pub next door. It’s a lot more upmarket than it was back then.
Mal and Lauren 