Category Archives: Uncategorized

May 12, 2021 Today we circumnavigated Mt. Eden (Maungawhau), taking the streets surrounding the volcano. With their larger houses and established trees, the neighborhoods reminded us of some of the Washington DC neighborhoods that we have explored. One of the largest of the houses is Tibbs House, a boarding establishment for boys attending neighboring AucklandContinue reading “Auckland, New Zealand”

May 10, 2021 On a drizzly day we walked downtown to the Aotea Centre to pick up some tickets for the upcoming Auckland Writers Festival. The Centre is Auckland’s largest performing arts and events venue. Opened in 1990, it is not a particularly loved building. First, due to poor acoustics, the main auditorium required aContinue reading “Auckland, New Zealand”

May 7, 2021 We started out today’s walk visiting Mal’s old school friend, Johnny, at his beautiful old villa in Parnell. Johnny and his wife, Jo, bought their house from New Zealand music legend, Neil Finn, of Crowded House fame and one of the bedrooms in the house used to be a recording studio. YouContinue reading “Auckland, New Zealand”

May 4, 2021 On a beautiful sunny morning we set out east from downtown along Tamaki Drive toward the inner city suburb of Parnell. Along the way we passed the Port of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest port. The three large cranes visible in the distance are a recent addition, costing $20 million a piece. EachContinue reading “Auckland, New Zealand”

May 3, 2021 Paritai Drive, in the suburb of Orakei, is one of Auckland’s most exclusive addresses. The Drive follows around a point with expansive views of the harbor. The houses come in all shapes, styles and ages but only one size, extra large. Dwarfing its already large neighbors is one of New Zealand’s mostContinue reading “Auckland, New Zealand”

April 29, 2021 On a beautiful early Autumn day we went for a walk around neighboring Grey Lynn. In many ways it is similar to our own neighborhood of Freeman’s Bay with lots of white wooden cottages and villas. But there are also a variety of other types of houses, including this Spanish style home.Continue reading “Auckland, New Zealand”

April 26, 2021 Our niece, Debbie, joined us on a visit to the Sculptureum. Just outside of Matakana, it is the home of some of the most beautiful palms and weirdest sculptures you are likely to find anywhere. With giant green rabbits, pink snails and multi-colored meerkats, this is not a place to visit underContinue reading “Matakana, New Zealand”

April 25, 2021 The weather in the Auckland region is very changeable. The bad news is that you can set off for a walk in bright sunshine and five minutes later be drenched by a passing shower. The good news is that the region has more than its fair share of rainbows. Driving over theContinue reading “Matakana / Pakiri, New Zealand”

April 22, 2021 We headed across the Harbour Bridge to visit Takapuna, on Auckland’s North Shore. Taka is Maori for knoll or assembly and puna means spring. It probably refers to Lake Pupuke, a small lake lying about 200 meters inland which was created when a volcanic crater filled with fresh spring water. The beachContinue reading “Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand”

April 21, 2021 We went along to the Van Gogh Alive multi-sensory experience with our friends Howard and Carolyn. It was a beautiful experience seeing the tormented artist’s work on huge screens in vibrant color with classical music playing in the background. The colors and texture of his works make him an ideal artist forContinue reading “Auckland, New Zealand”