March 26, 2011
Completed in 1932, Tamaki Drive follows the coastline east from downtown Auckland through Okahu Bay, Mission Bay and Kohimarama before coming to an end in St. Heliers. It is about five miles long and, as practically the only flat street in Auckland, is popular with walkers, joggers and cyclists. The beaches are also very nice and the water is swimmable.
The most lively of the bays is Mission Bay which is lined by restaurants and shops and has a large park next to the beach.
The deco style Berkeley is no longer a movie theater but we remember going to movies there back in the eighties. At that time, they had intermissions half way through the movie and an ice cream seller would walk down the aisle with a tray of vanilla ice cream cones for sale. It all seems very quaint now.
The bay takes its name from the Melanesian Mission which was established in the bay at the end of the 1840s. The stone buildings that remain date from 1858 and are built of scoria rock, quarried on the volcanic island of Rangitoto, which sits offshore. These days, a high-end Japanese restaurant is connected to the original mission building.
Speaking of Rangitoto, there are great views of the volcano from all of the bays.
Rangitoto is the youngest and largest of the approximately fifty volcanoes in the Auckland area, having formed in an eruption about 600 years ago. Rangitoto means ‘Bloody Sky’ in Maori which seems particularly apt for a volcano.
There are still some beautiful older houses and buildings in Mission Bay.
The next bay around from Mission Bay is Kohimarama, commonly called Kohi. It is less lively than Mission Bay but has a very nice cafe and a beautiful beach, lined by shady pohutukawa trees. Kohimarama refers to the gathering together of scattered wood chips from the carving of waka (canoes). The name also reflects the gathering together of divided peoples of different origins and waka after conflict.
At the eastern end of the beach is a sailing club and these sail boats were resting under the palm trees.
Speaking of sailing, the kite surfers were taking full advantage of the breezy day.
Mal spent his teenage years living with his parents in St. Heliers in the white apartment building in the following photo.
Looking back, he doesn’t remember realizing the idyllic nature of his neighborhood. Which probably had something to do with his being a teenager at the time. The neighborhood has not changed that much. The local fruit and vegetable store and small grocery store look much the same.
As does the local library.
This is the bus stop where Mal used to catch the bus to school.
Here are the shops and restaurants.
And here is the beach.
Time to sit and enjoy the view for a bit before walking back to Mission Bay.
Mal and Lauren 